Five New AU's, You Get to Choose
by Erasmusmaus
Summary: A collection of five stories. Each will represent the beginning of what could be a longer work. Once all five are posted you will get to vote on the one you wish to see extended. The first story 'She Haunts Me' is posted within. A new story will be posted each week.
1. She Haunts Me

So here's the deal - as soon as I finish with my current story 'Apologies' I will be moving on to a new project. One of the reasons I've been updating so slowly is because I've been working on a bunch of other stories at the same time. Each is just the start of what could be a larger work. I've allowed myself to write around 5k words for each. I'll be releasing them over the course of few weeks as soon as my other story is complete. (I decided to release one early ;))

Once the beginnings to all the stories are posted I will call for a vote and the winning story will be become my new writing project.

All story previews will be rated Teen. Once an AU has been chosen I will re-post and upgrade it to the intended rating.

INDEX

 **She Haunts Me**

In the present, Judy Wilde is dead and Nick is intent on ending his own life.

Twenty years later Nick Wilde, much beloved member of the Hopps household, is in a position to take the reins from the soon to retire Stu Hopps. Many see this as the right choice while other are strongly opposed.

This story is told in two time periods as Nick attempts to find the will to live, and as his older self seeks to protect his family from threats internal and external.

Also, everything might have gone smoothly if Nick wasn't allowing himself to be haunted by his dead wife; a condition that could be cured if he wasn't secretly off his meds.

 **Rating** : Teen

 **Genre** : Drama/ Tragedy/ Modern Western?

 **This story might contain** :

Crushing sadness - Multiple attempts at suicide - More females in love with Nick then a bad harem anime - Nick being a cowboy and taking care of business - Arson! - Gaius Baltar style multitasking - Eternal punching bag Nicholas Wilde.

* * *

 **The Lion Throne**

Wildeholme, the great fortress and ancestral home of house Wilde has fallen and the rebel leader Robin Wilde is soon to be executed.

His teenaged son Nicholas has been sent to live with House Hopps. As a hostage/ ward, Nick is treated with contempt by all except a few members of the household. As the time passes Nick is forced to ask himself if he is still a Wilde or has he been won over by the gentle life of rabbits. With the known world falling into ever greater turmoil, where will Nicholas stand, what will his destiny be?

 **Rating** : Mature

 **Genre** : Grim Medieval Fantasy (Zootopia meets Game of Thrones)

 **This story might contain** :

Massive game of thrones rip off - Nick is kind of (sort of) Theon - All the OC's - Major character deaths! - Disney's 'red wedding' - Lords and ladies - minor Lion King references - World's greatest swordsman Nicholas Wilde - The Rabbit Knight

* * *

 **Looking Glass**

Judy has been having terrible dreams. Somehow the horrors she sees at night are finding their way into the real world. Power is awakening within her as ancient evil hunts from just beyond the vale of reality. Desperate for any means of escape Judy must fight for her life and her sanity. Along the way she may find herself becoming something she never imagined.

 **Genre** : Horror (Zootopia in the 'Dark Tower' universe)

 **Rating** : Mature

 **This story may contain** :

The actual Dark Tower - Walter O' Dimm, Viscera, gore, and other gross stuff including bugs and claustrophobia - Judy trying not to lose her marbles - Rapey moments - Weirdness! - Gunslinger Judy Hopps - Ka, do ya kennit?

* * *

 **Savage Wilde Hopps**

After a drunken tryst with Nicholas Wilde, Judy Hopps reacts badly, breaking the poor foxes heart. Some time later Nick meets Jack Savage and is confronted by an attraction he didn't expect.

As Nick finds himself in the beginnings of a relationship with Jack, Judy gets jealous and finally realizes she is an idiot (and also the worst).

Now she must try and win Nick back..

The time has come for two badass bunnies to go to war!

 **Genre** : Comedy/ Romance/ Smut

 **Rating** : Explicit

 **This story may contain** :

Judy and Jack teaming up to save the mammal they love - Bunny cat-fight - Hardcore Porn! - Butt stuff - Fox Burger... as in, two hot buns sandwiching a thick piece of fox meat… that is to say, a threesome - pining and fluff - Jack or Judy? Who will win!?

* * *

 **The Wild Children**

While traveling to Bunnyburrows Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are attacked and injected with nighthowler serum. The two race into the woods as mindless savages and are lost to the civilized world for over a year.

Decades later the Wildes are the most controversial, enigmatic and unprecedentedly wealthy mammals in all Animalia. They are the mother and father of a new race of animals. Forty-three children all of whom are the scientifically impossible hybrids of a rabbit and a fox. These children are a new kind of brilliant. They are impossibly fast and strong but also strange, and to some, deeply frightening.

The wildes have a secret that they are going to unveil to the world. One that will define the future and reveal the catalyst for the evolution of all modern mammals.

 **Genre** : Sci-Fi

 **Rating** : Teen

 **This story may contain** :

The Kwisatz Haderach - A dash of 'Ender's Game' mixed with a pinch of 'Dune', sprinkled by a violent sneeze of 'Stranger In a Strange Land' - Actual science (well, not really) - Told mainly from the perspective of Bogo and Bonnie (cool right!?) - Nick and Judy's creepy unnatural super-spawn.

* * *

 **SHE HAUNTS ME**

The seemingly endless torrent of grief that had filled every corner of Nick Wilde's being for the last hour was finally beginning to wane. In its stead was left a void; numbness. He was drained beyond all measure, his emotions had been burned out leaving only cold certainty.

They had covered her body with a tarp some minutes ago.

The night was warm and filled with the sounds of crickets and buzzing insects as well as short bursts of radio chatter coming from the many handhelds resting on the hips of over a dozen officers and first responders.

Before the tarp, Judy had lain lifeless on the ground, her eyes had been closed at some point. Her mouth hung open slightly. Already flies were gathering around the pool of blood that had at first collected around her body before inching across the pavement in a thick stream, to be eventually pulled by gravity down a nearby storm drain.

Before the other officers had arrived Nick had held her in his arms, with no way to staunch the blood rushing from multiple gunshot wounds. She had whispered his name and then fallen still; his wife, his Judy. Her heart had slowed and become so quiet that it stopped without his notice; like the dying notes of a symphony.

Before he held her and wept, or perhaps he had screamed (before that) he had ended the firefight by killing three mammals.

He went against his training and aimed for the head each time, and each time he had been rewarded with vengeance. Although, in the end, his revenge counted for less than nothing. She was dead, and if his plan was successful, he would be too, and before the night was out.

Bogo was an issue.

He had been watching him like a hawk since he arrived personally on the scene.

Nick was wrapped in a gray blanket. He had wedged himself against the red-brick side of a building across from his dead wife.

People who he may or may not have known had tried several times to coax him away into a squad car but Nick had refused. They had at times stopped and spoken quiet condolences to him, none of which he could even recall. He was currently playing at being catatonic although in truth he was waiting for his moment.

Again Bogo was the problem. He had seen the look in Nick's eyes. For a second when he'd still been holding Judy in his arms their gazes had met, and in that brief time, they both knew. Nick was going to try and end his life. Bogo had seen it on the faces of his officers before. Nick knew that Bogo knew, and Bogo knew Nick knew that he knew. It had been a complicated exchange but nonetheless, unmistakable.

Minutes later it was time for Judy's body to be taken to the morgue at Zootopia Memorial. The chief had quietly arranged for the view to be blocked from both a growing crowd of onlookers as well as Nick himself.

The cape buffalo for the first time that night approached him and knelt down so they were face to face. Nick could see a great mask of sadness and tension etched across his features. The chief would remain stoic while on duty, as he had for every officer he had ever lost.

"It's time for us to leave. You're coming with me to the station and we are going to go over everything."

Nick spoke for the first time that night, his voice was so raw it was barely comprehensible, "I would rather not."

"Nick," Bogo used his name for the first time in memory; his voice gentle but unrelenting, "let's be honest. These next few days are going to be a living hell. You will have to answer endless questions and make hundreds of decisions that you shouldn't have to make. You are going to have to defend her actions and yours as well. After all that is finished, you can fall apart. But until then, we have a duty - to her, and the people who loved her. We have to do right by them."

Nick listened without even the slightest reaction. The words didn't make him feel anything, probably because he couldn't seem to 'feel' at all; but they did ring true.

Still, he felt he had to try and escape this (fate literally worse to him than his own death), "I'll come with you. I just need a few minutes to be alone."

"No." was all Bogo said at first, "Of the many choices you soon have to make, this isn't one of them. You are coming with me now and at no point am I leaving you alone. Not until I am satisfied that you are getting adequate support. So do as I say, it's time to get up. Come with me to the cruiser."

Nick was screwed.

There was no getting away from this. Not without some kind of distraction or act of God.

It was a good thing then that for Nicholas Wilde, luck seemed to come in peaks and pitfalls.

One of the officers who was working on the opposite side of the street had been canvassing the crime scene, and on a whim, had opened a wide plastic bin. These were generally used as storage for sand that workers would shovel out to protect sidewalks from getting too slick from the ever-falling rain provided by the districts sprinklers.

When he opened this one however, he found a teenaged deer huddled inside, "Get back!" The thin mammal yelled as soon as his hiding place was revealed. He stood in a panic brandishing a small knife. His eyes going round as he saw the horde of police officers standing only feet away.

This deer was the fourth and final member of the thieves him and Judy had encountered while on patrol.

The street became pandemonium in an instant. Multiple officers unholstered their weapons.

Bogo was charging towards the conflict and yelling in a booming voice for everyone to hold their fire.

The youth dropped the knife he was holding and almost instantly was hauled from the box and planted face down on the ground.

It was less than thirty seconds between the moment that Bogo left Nick alone by the cruiser and when he had the presence of mind to look back. In that time Nick had slipped away. The instant he was out of view found him sprinting down several dark alleys. He knew Zootopia and how to get lost in it. Only minutes later he was already long gone.

Nick had always been a planner. It's what made him a good hustler and a good cop. He never went into a situation half-cocked.

Almost nine months before her death, there had been another incident where Judy's life was nearly ended. This was not long before her and Nick were to be married; only a few months into their engagement.

It had been in one of Zootopia's many public parks. A mentally disturbed rhinoceros had grabbed Judy around the waist as she tried to calm him. The huge mammal had proceeded to throw her with all his might like a football. She had sailed high and far over the open grass; tumbling through the air.

When she struck the ground Nick had felt for an instant like he was going insane.

She hit the earth, and rolled, finally coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

It was then that Nick realized, not in a theoretical or abstract way, but as an utter gut certainty, that he could not – would not - go on living without Judy Hopps.

Judy, being some kind of super rabbit, was miraculously unharmed and returned to work two days later.

By that time though, the full force of his epiphany had sunk in. For the most part, Nick had refused to think about the possibility of Judy dying. It was far too painful to consider, even in theory. But he now knew that should she die he would truly have lost the will to live. She really had hustled him.

This was a serious glaring weakness that he could never escape.

Her dream was to be a cop. He could never, and would never, ask her to give up her dream. But the more he thought about it, the more certain he became that eventually, (regardless of how hard he tried to protect her) Judy's luck might one day run out. When it did, he decided, he would need a plan. Because he was not going to suffer the fallout of her loss; not for one second longer than he absolutely had to.

* * *

Nick Wilde awoke in total darkness, twenty meters below the earth in a small room which contained nothing but a bed, a dresser, a small desk and a single framed picture.

He showered quickly, dressing in a brown collared shirt and a black pair of well-worn jeans.

It was around three in the morning and as had been the case for nearly twenty years, Nick was the first person awake within the Hopps burrow.

At almost fifty-five years of age, Nicholas was in excellent shape. His knees and back had remained strong regardless of the constant and unending strain he put on them.

He was thin and wiry, yet in no way did he appear weak. Every ounce of him that was not lean muscle was wiry sinew.

His hands had become strong and sure. Endless hours in the sun had bleached the fur on his neck and arms until they were almost strawberry blond. His expression was mild; he almost never smiled but neither did he frown. When he spoke it was measured and directly to the point. On the rarest of occasions, if he chose to make a speech or tell a tale, you listened.

Finally, his eyes were as green as they had ever been. But now they had seemed to have withdrawn further into his skull, making them intense to look on. They glittered brightly in any light, almost luminous; and they could pin you to the wall if directed in anger.

He was handsome; more so even than he had been in his youth. His good looks though were tempered by an aura of menace which, unless you were among his family and friends, told you immediately that this mammal was not to be taken lightly.

Walking through the well-furnished tunnels Nick guided himself by memory. Eventually, he came into a semi-lit room which led him to the large space that was the main cafeteria.

His claws clicked and echoed over the vinyl flooring as he made his way to the empty stainless steel counters of the industrial kitchen.

A digital clock mounted on the wall blinked 3:10 in large glowing red numbers.

Nick began his daily task of setting out brown bags and filling them with lunches. There would be one hundred and thirty-six bags when he was done.

Twenty-three of these had special dietary requirements while countless others had less pressing preferences attached to their future owner's needs.

He scribbled a name on each bag and organized them by grade and bus as he arranged them over the countertop.

The Hopps household had the most rabbits from a single burrow within the public school system. This was not just within the Tri-Burrows but as far as he knew, anywhere in Animalia.

Back when Judy was young it had only been her, alongside three of her siblings attending high school. Today there were over sixty Hopps high schoolers enrolled at West Burrows High.

That meant his family made up over seventy percent of the rabbit population within the school (a fact that Nick had to admit gave him a great deal of smug satisfaction).

He considered it his life's work. Showing his nieces and nephews that they could be anything. Helping them with homework, encouraging their intelligence, forcing them to attend school by any means necessary including bribes, threats, gifts, guilt trips and occasional blackmail.

For years he had struggled in his quest with little or no help from the adult rabbits who he shared a home with. In fact, he was often met with outright hostility. It hadn't been until the last decade or so that things had been shifting in his favor.

It was almost at the point now where he could get a few hours sleep at night. For years he practically lived at the school.

He spent so much time with the teaching staff he had attended half a dozen weddings. He was easily the most despised member of the PTA which was in Nick's mind the greatest single achievement of his life.

This was mainly due to the past fifteen years of his constant unending push towards sex education. He had eventually taken over the role himself of sex-ed teacher and had been doing it now for years.

He literally kept condoms on his person at all times and handed them out freely to any who asked. Yet another thing that made him unpopular with certain members of his family and neighbors.

By the time Nick was finished with the lunches it was nearly 5:30, almost time to make his first rounds and collect members of bus one. He had just enough time for a coffee.

A few minutes later a small chime started to sound from his watch as he took his first dose of precious caffeine.

He needed to take his pills.

Nick dug them out from his back pocket. Two reds, a blue, an orange, and finally the big white one. Antidepressants and antipsychotics as well as a little of this and that to keep everything stable.

Nick took everything but the antipsychotic which he held in his fingers and slowly tapped against the metal countertop as he thought.

It had only been a few months since Bonnie had finally given him a bit of leash by allowing him to take his own medication without her direct supervision. The old bunny was hard to fool and Nick had spent almost two years now without skipping any of his pills.

It had been nearly a month since he had been granted the freedom to self medicate; long enough in his mind that he could safely start cheating again.

Lately, he had felt a desperate need to see her. The feeling was becoming a bit of an obsession. He just needed her, if only for a day or two. Real or not it didn't matter. He just had to see her face and this time he wasn't going to slip up. He wouldn't go as far as before.

Bonnie had a team of her little spies who reported about the perceived state of his mental health.

The last time they caught him he had simply gone too long without all his meds. If he had just exercised a little more self control he would never have been caught. Opposed to what most in the burrow believed, Nick had actually spent most of the last two decades unmedicated. He was an expert at hiding his condition.

So, carefully and quietly Nick took the pill in his fingers and used a metal drain stopper to crush it into powder at the bottom of the sink. A few seconds of running water later and it was gone.

Nick returned to his coffee which he drank in a few large gulps before pouring himself a second cup. He was going to need to be on the ball if he intended to make it through the day.

* * *

When it comes to suicide a mammal has a whole world of options. Unfortunately for Nick, there were both a number of ways that he didn't want to die and one major requirement that needed to be met: no one could ever find his body.

Now, there are many ways for mammals to disappear forever - making it happen with next to no resources, with little or no notice, and without help; that was difficult. Not to mention many of the options were horrifying to say the least. For instance: jump into a heat vent on the Sahara Square divide. Nearly impossible to get there, and even if you could, the system would shut down before you would be totally incinerated. Ok, how about throw oneself into one of the big vats at a bug farm. First off, it would be tough to get in undiscovered. Second, even if you were dead before you hit the bugs the idea of being devoured by a swarm of tiny maggots... not nice. And don't even think about the possibility that whatever means you used to off yourself fails. In the bug scenario there exists a tiny but still present possibility that one could find themselves, still conscious, submerged in a sea of biting insects. For Nick this immediately put the idea into the 'Nope' category.

So in the end what had Nick planned for his quick trip into the unknown? Well, he took a cue from the most effective mammal disappearer in Zootopia; Mr. Big.

Nick had six drop points around the city. Conveniently Judy had been killed only two miles away from the nearest one. "What luck!" Nick thought to himself bitterly.

He arrived at heritage park a little over ten minutes after he had started sprinting. It was easily the fastest he had ever run; a personal best.

 _The day is simply filling up with silver linings._

The first thing Nick did upon arrival was to retch his guts out onto the dew covered grass.

After that little bit of business was complete he stumbled, gasping, over to a group of hedges at a far corner of the field.

Digging around with his claws it took him less than a minute to find the cinder block he had buried in the soft earth. It took five minutes more to dig it out enough to haul the whole thing onto the grass.

Inside one of the square hollows within the concrete block was a small box that had been triple bagged and circled with a redundant amount of duct tape.

Once nick had ripped this open he found what he wanted. A thin wire with loops on the ends. A set of tranquilizer darts. A small dollar store combo lock and a super-light camping bag. In addition to these items were other things he might have needed in other scenarios: a wad of cash, fur dye, a fake passport, to name a few.

In the second square hole of the cinder block was another bag. Inside this Nick found a pair of gym shorts and a cold, earth moistened t-shirt. He quickly pulled off his uniform and donned both items of clothing.

Next, he loaded the small stuff into his pockets and struggled with the cinder block which he managed to load into the camping bag.

When Nick had picked which parks to bury his insurance policies he had looked for ones that were right next to mass transit; preferably trains.

Literally across the road from Heritage Park was a station, the train would be arriving in minutes. So Nick humped the huge brick across the road and up the steps to the deserted platform.

For some mammals, a cinder block wouldn't be considered all that heavy. For a fox, it was like lifting a goddamn washing machine.

Nick got two minutes to calm his heaving breaths before the train pulled in. He dragged the bag aboard and positioned it in the seat closest to the doors.

Only a few tired mammals were traveling at this late hour and none seemed interested in Nick or what he was doing.

Two stops later Nick got off the Zootopia loop at Glacier Falls and transferred to the Tundratown loop.

Once he was situated again he watched the animated map located above the door. Seven stops until he had to get off. Thirty-five minutes to Floe Lane and maybe thirty minutes more before Nick would meet his end.

It was two stops later that a middle-aged pair, a Koala, and a Beaver stepped onto the train and sat across from Nick

Up until this point Nick had been occupying his mind with as much irrelevant information as he could manage. How many seats were in each car. What were the names for each of the station stops.

He had been memorizing them desperately before being interrupted. Now he found himself analyzing these new arrivals as he would a couple of marks.

They sat next to one another, matching scarves. Both were tired; barely aware. The female koala leaned against the beaver for a moment. They were together, both had rings, married. They had-

Suddenly Nick was hit by a wave of grief. He didn't know where it came from but he was powerless to stop it. Pain and memory washed over him. All he could manage to do was stand and face the door as if looking out into the night. Tears ran in streams down his cheeks as he grit his teeth in an attempt to silence his hitching sobs. His whole body shook.

He wanted nothing so much as to simply lay on the ground, curl into himself and pull his fur out in chunks.

But he was close. It would be over soon. He could fight the pain for one more hour, even though at that moment an hour felt like an eternity.

Nick jumped as he felt a hand on his arm. He turned slowly trying to clear the wetness from his muzzle, but it was a losing battle.

"Sir, are you alright. Can I call someone for you?"

Nick just shook his head. Looking down at his hands which he noticed for the first time that night. Apart from the mud on his fingers, all up his arms he was utterly covered in his wife's blood. His neck was a matted horror, it was everywhere.

 _Idiot! The most important hustle of your life and you're screwing it up._

"N- no. Hah, it-it's fine s-sorry to worry you. Just g-got back from a pretty ugly scene. A little stressed. I'll be o-ok in a second."

 _What did I just say?_

The beaver had left his seat as well and he was watching Nick intently. "I've seen you before on T.V." The beaver pointed at Nick, "Wilde" right? You married that partner of yours. The bunny who caught Bellweather. What's her name again?"

Saying it was like pulling a fish hook out of his throat, "Judy"

"That's right, Judy Hopps, or I guess it's Wilde now huh."

Nick couldn't bring himself to respond. He tried but felt that if he opened his mouth he would start to scream and wouldn't be able to stop.

Before either of the mammals could say anything more the screens located above the doors all over the train turned bright yellow and the coach was filled with a few short tones. Moments later scrolling text began to float upwards accompanied by a robotic voice.

CITIZENS ALERT

EVENT: CITIZEN IN DISTRESS

ISSUED BY ZOOTOPIA POLICE DEPARTMENT PRECINCT 1

RED FOX: NICHOLAS P. WILDE, MALE, AGE 30-40, THIN BUILD, LAST SEEN NEAR CLOUD ALLEY AT 0130 AM WEARING A POLICE UNIFORM, MATTED FUR.

DUE TO THE TRAGIC LOSS OF A FAMILY MEMBER NICHOLAS IS CURRENTLY IN A STATE OF EXTREME DURESS. THE ZPD IS SEARCHING FOR HIM AND IS ASKING THAT IF SPOTTED, TO IMMEDIATELY CALL 911.

NICHOLAS IS NOT A DANGER TO OTHERS BUT IS IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE HELP.

Nick turned back towards the glass train doors and attempted to compose himself. He was going to have to make a break for it. That meant abandoning the cinder block which was going to screw things up a bit. Although lugging the thing around had likely been a mistake from the start. He simply wasn't thinking clearly enough. He would have to make due. Although if he was going to have to run for the docks in a t-shirt and shorts through Tundratown he might very well freeze to death on the way.

The koala broke his revery in a kind voice, "Nicholas why don't… why don't you sit down with me and if there is anything you want to talk about. Anything at all, I'd be more than willing to just listen. You can't go outside in what you're wearing so let's just ride the train. Me and Bert haven't got anywhere to be."

 _Bert the beaver? What cruel, cruel parents._

Nick wished that he could tell Judy, she would have been amused. He could hear the tintinnabulation of her laughter echo through his mind. So inscribed upon his soul the sound, that the auditory hallucination caused him to startle and turn towards the couple.

Nick then noticed that Bert had wandered a short ways down the coach and was making a very conspicuous, 'incognito' phone call.

"Now arriving at Frosty Station" an automated voice announced over the sound system. The train was slowing down and the doors would be opening in less than a minute.

Nick had regained the feeling of numbness he was submerged in previous to his breakdown. He decided it was safe to try and distract the koala until he could make a break for it.

"She's dead, my wife Judy. She was shot. There was nothing anyone could do."

Silence.

Eventually, the koala responded with a quiet, "Oh." And then, "Your wife… she was a hero to a lot of people… this whole city is going t-to mourn her loss. You… I can't imagine how you must feel… you might not see it now but there are mammals everywhere that are going to be there for you; who care about you. You aren't alone."

"I know," Nick even managed a small smile. "It was Judy who finally convinced me... to let people in... to love this city. I have friends and family, hell I even have admirers. I know that they will be there for me. Unfortunately, it's not enough. It never will be, because deep down I'm selfish. I've spent my whole life avoiding pain and I'm not about to change now."

The doors at Nick's back slid open as the train came to a stop. Without hesitation he bolted backward onto the platform and dashed down the cold, salt strewn steps that led to street level. Behind him, he could hear his name being called but he tuned it out.

Right now he had to focus. It was several miles to the waterfront and he was going to have to really move it if he planned to get there without being caught or succumbing to exposure.

* * *

Nick swept from room to room gathering the fourteen kits that he needed to drop off at school early for a variety of activities. Six needed to get to band, four for pyramid practice, one for early detention and one for a student council meeting.

Half of the kids he went looking for were already getting dressed or had since made their way to the front door.

The habitually late Orin Wilde was already back to sleep, fully clothed and wearing his backpack when Nick got to him.

As was the case most mornings Nick lowered his face down to Orins ear, "Up, up." and as was also the case Orin reached around his father's neck and let himself be lifted off the bed; Nick holding him against his chest.

"You are getting way too old for this you know that right?"

"Nmmm…"

At the door Nick counted off the kits as they walked out and boarded the small bus. "Noah, Wyle, Ella, Dory, Mike, Gan, Morty, Leahn, Deirdre, Methuselah, Tina, Alex, Bruce and," Nick extracted Orin from around his neck, "Orin. Good luck at practice today Flips. Remember, get your knee up when you slide."

The other kits had already boarded the bus. From the driver's seat, Abby Hopps waved enthusiastically in their direction.

Orin turned back after taking a step out the door, "Dad can I stay home with you. Those guys are going to bully me again. You don't understand-"

"Orin I do understand. Remember what we talked about. You try and deal, and if that doesn't work get help from a teacher. Everyone knows exactly what is happening and if those kids try and pull anything, they are in for some serious trouble; Aw mean it. Now, do yah trust me?"

"Yeah."

Nick grabbed his son's long ears and lifted them up from where they had been drooping over his back.

"Do yah love me?

Orin giggled, "Yeah."

"Well, I love you too." Nick kissed his head. "Have a good day. Try not to bite anyone."

Orin grin widened as he snapped his harmless buck teeth together, "How can I resist, my dad is a fox after all. Rawr! Chomp chomp! Bite bite bite!" Orin playfully mimicked the actions to go with his gnashing as he jogged towards the bus.

Nick had to suppress a grin of his own as the bus pulled out of the burrow parking lot and meandered down the road leaving a dusty cloud in its wake. "Hah, savage bunny."

"You turned out to be a pretty good Dad you know; did the right thing when you adopted him."

And just like that she was back.

Standing just a few feet away, and looking no older than the day he met her, was Judy Hopps.

Nick swallowed convulsively and used every ounce of his will power not to stare at her, scream her name or burst into tears. Instead he looked around casually making sure that no one was watching or listening, before walking slowly out into the parking lot with his arms crossed.

"I've missed you so much." Nick whispered it, trying not to move his mouth in case someone caught a glimpse of him talking to himself. That was part of what had got him the last time.

Judy had circled around in front of him and placed her hands on his crossed arms bringing him to a stop.

He could feel her. He could smell her.

 _"God her eyes... she is so beautiful."_ Just looking into them was like a balm to his very soul.

Unfortunately, Judy didn't look terribly happy, "You are off your meds again. Damn it Nick! I want you to go inside, get the pill that you were supposed to take and swallow it. What happened last time can't happen again. I am not really here. **I am dead**. Stop doing this to yourself and let me go for Christ sa-"

Nick threw caution to the wind and reached down taking her face in his hands. He leaned in and kissed her in a way he had envisioned every hour of every day for the last two years.

When he finally pulled back she was looking at him with softer eyes, "Dumb fox."

"I'm your dumb fox. I'll always be your fox."

"I'm gone Nick. Please, I want so… so much more for you then this."

"You are not gone. You are right here, and you are real, you've always been real. I'm not going to let the same things happen as last time. Believe me, I've got this Carrots."

Judy's face had become deeply sad, and cold, "I'm not going to let you hurt yourself again. You may not see it but this family, hell, this whole town relies on you. It's not going to be like it was. I... Nick, I'm going to do what I have to do to make sure you mess this up; that you get caught. I'm going to do it because I love you."

"Judy, all I need is one touch, one taste of your scent, one look into your eyes. Just once a day and I can manage. I know what I did wrong last time, and like I said, it won't happen again… Judy?

She was gone.

Nick took a moment to still his heart beat and calm his mind. He let out a long sigh.

The sun was getting ready to appear over the hills far afield from where he stood. Taking a deep breath of the cool morning air, Nick turned and let himself back into the burrow.

* * *

Within minutes of leaving the train platform the cold air was already cutting right through Nick's fur. He guessed it was at least twenty below if not colder. It would only get worse, the wind would be blowing steadily off the water by the time he got to the docks.

What began then, was a battle of will.

Pain filled his lungs as cold air was billowed through them. Nick was forced to place his shirt over his mouth and started breathing through it as he ran just to cut some of the freezing air.

His feet had already lost all feeling.

Crystals of frozen perspiration began collecting at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

Nick traversed past empty intersections and through frozen deserted streets always looking for the easiest course as he avoided deep snow or patches of ice.

Everything began to feel numb; his hands, his lips, his ears, his nose.

His gate was becoming sloppy as he continued to push forward, heading ever downward towards the water.

He felt light headed; needing a break, to rest and catch his breath. But he didn't dare. To stop now was to fail. He would never get started again if he let himself cool.

Finally he arrived.

Before him was a wide concrete dock, as wide as a street and nearly a half mile long. It branched far out into the water. When cruise ships followed the canal and entered the Zootopia basin they would use this dock as a stopping point. This was a place where the water was deep enough that even the most massive of ships could pull right up and dock. Travelers could walk right off the boat and head into Low Town, a land of expensive cafes, and upscale shopping.

He had arrived, and as frozen as he was, he still had his facilities intact for the most part.

Gasping for breath Nick searched for an object to replace his cinderblock.

He realized now that he would never have been able to get the thing down here regardless, but hindsight being twenty-twenty, he would have to improvise.

After less than a minute of hunting around in a trash-filled alley off the main road, Nick discovered what he was looking for. An old, blackened log-rack that had at one point adorned the inside of a fireplace.

Nick found it too unwieldy to carry, but with some effort, he managed to drag it across the pavement.

Too bad it made such an ungodly loud scraping, bouncing, banging racket.

 _Gotta be quick Nick, before we wake the entire neighborhood._

He was halfway down the dock when he spotted a tall bulky figure jogging towards him from back near the road.

Suddenly seeing his plan in danger he redoubled his efforts and pulled the metal grate with one hand as he all but sprinted towards the end of the dock.

The noise he made on his way there was deafening and could probably be heard halfway across the lake.

The figure was getting close by the time Nick arrived at the end of the pier.

Out here, he could see the city rising up before him; spiral buildings and a million tiny lights. The dock was illuminated by dim, intermittent, lamp-posts. Below him freezing water slapped endlessly against the concrete supports.

Nick scurried around as he positioned the metal rack onto its side. His plan was to wear it like a backpack.

Shaking, he sat and wrapped the wire around his torso as well as the cold metal, securing it to himself. Next, he locked the whole thing together tightly with the combo lock. Finally, he began sliding his way, butt-first and back-facing towards the edge.

"Hey Nick right?" A fairly small and trim example of a polar bear was standing about ten feet away.

"S-sorry lady, wr-wr-wrong fox. S-so if you'll e-excuse me I have some p-pressing business to att-t-tend to-"

"I'm curious; why here? I saw on the news that your wife was shot over in the rainforest district."

Nick had nothing to say so instead prepared to heave himself off the last foot of the dock. With a push he came within a few inches of tipping over.

"Because I'm thinking that you probably could have found an easier way to off yourself. So why come all the way here to do it. Names Beatrix by the way. Nice to meet you."

Nick sighed or more accurately he shivered convulsively, "W-w-well Beatrix how about I tell you i-if you promise to t-turn around and pretend you n-never saw me."

"Hmm, alright. I admit I don't really care if you drown yourself or whatever but like I said, I'm curious."

"Crabs."

"What?"

"C-crabs, that's w-why I'm here." Nick made an attempt to momentarily still his shaking, "Freshwater crabs i-infest these waters and because Low Town is a tourist location no one i-is allowed to fish. A-also this the deepest harbour in Zootopia. I'll pass out b-before I reach the bottom. The crabs will eat me up and leave nothing behind."

The polar bear shifted her hips and laughed. In a strange way it kind of reminded him of judy, "So you don't want there to be anything left of you, is that it? Why bother?"

"Just d-don't want my mom and my friends having to identify me on s-some table or have to stand around me in a stuffy room while I l-lie in an ugly wooden casket."

"I still don't get it. Why worry when you're not going to be alive anyway?"

"G-guess I'm just weird that way. Anyway, seeing as we had a deal it's time f-for both of us to go now. I would appreciate it if you could keep q-quiet about finding me."

The polar bear took a step forward, "Well, about that. I actually have an aunt who trains rookies at the Zootopia police academy so I actually know all about you."

"Don't come closer!" The polar bear stopped in her tracks, "You're rr-related to Ursula huh? Tell her she's a giant bitch for me." Nick let out a short laugh, "Also that she was r-right about me ending up dead."

Nick began to push himself over the edge and found it was only the clenching of his abdominals that kept him from falling. He drew the two tranquilizer darts out of his pockets and prepared to jab himself with them.

"HEY! So I lied. Aunty Ursula called my family an hour ago and told us what happened. She was sobbing herself silly, which is really something if you know my aunt at all. She asked if we would all go out and look for you. So here I am."

"V-very touching. Good story but you should work on your delivery for n-next time. Sorry kid."

"Wait! If- if you do this I'm going to tell them exactly what happened. They are going to fish your half eaten, crab covered corpse out of the drink. I bet your old mum is going to be thrilled when they bring her in to identify you." She took a step forward.

"It's t-too late to turn back now. I tried my best but really, I've b-been a screw up my entire life. No reason to think that this time would turn out any d-differently."

"Just stop ok. Please. Listen I also lied about not caring. In fact, the moment you jump in there I plan to dive right in after you." She took another step forward.

"The w-water is almost sixty feet deep. Good luck."

At that moment, from just around the bend that led down into Low Town, Nick spotted a myriad of flashing blue and red lights careening over and down the steep hill towards them.

"You called the police huh?"

Beatrix shrugged and gave him a little smile as if to say 'what did you expect'.

Before she could make another move or attempt to distract him further, Nick jammed the two tranquilizers into his arm and kicked himself off the edge of the dock.

He spun backwards through the air for a split second before crashing into the water.

Cold.  
Pain.  
Sinking.  
Blackness.

Things were fading. The dark was giving way to a bright white expanse. Nick felt that the bottom of the lake was shining. That he was no longer sinking but rising up.

Then there was nothing.


	2. Looking Glass

**Looking Glass**

Oh, Hazel, look! The field! It's covered with blood!

- _Watership Down_

Stretching to the farthest horizon is water. It rests still as glass. She stands in it up to her knees. Her toes curl into warm, coarse sand.

The sky, a deep crimson, filled with turbulent streaks of cloud. The only objects visible are a few barren trees, reedy and grey, spindling at most a dozen feet above the water's surface. Directly ahead, many miles in the distance sits a tiny black structure.

She is dreaming. Yet _this_ is not a dream. Her conscious mind awakens as she scans the unreal landscape spread before her. The air feels oppressive. A tension lies on the water that she equates with the minutes before a hurricane.

She takes a deep breath. The rules here are different and as she steps forward, focused on her destination, she passes many miles. The dying trees whip past and in the distance the black shape grows into a great dark pillar.

With another step it has become a strange door towering above the plain like some unworldly skyscraper. Figures still too small to make out are gathered at its base.

She takes a third step and she is standing before a great shroud of darkness undulating and pinned between two great pillars of jet. The dark shape is not a door, but a fabric from which no light seems to escape; a liquid void.

In her midst she notices a strange assortment of familiar faces. Standing shin deep in the water. Nick Wilde, her friend duplicated ten – maybe, twenty times; each different, yet none are the Nick she knows.

As she arrives they turn towards her. Some wear fine clothes, others, prison uniforms. The most menacing is dressed all in black and stares at her expressionlessly with his one good eye.

Another, some strange creature, tall and thin, is bald but for a red mane sprouting from the top of his head. The eyes are the same though, emerald green and unmistakably Nick. He smiles at her as if they were sharing some secret joke.

Another, a red hare, is in a ZPD uniform and again, as strange as it seems, he is also Nick; without a doubt.

Closest of all stands a fox who looks more weary and thin then she's ever seen her partner. His eyes sad but gentle. No mask of sarcasm and indifference.

 _"_ _A different life."_

His once fine suit is threadbare. Some sort of collar is buckled tightly about his neck.

"Judy" he whispers his eyes falling to the water, "I'm sorry but we can't help much. I think maybe we are a bit like spokes on a wheel… if you know what I mean."

She doesn't.

The collard Nick looks back up at her, his eyes swimming with tears. "You look so young. It seems so strange to think that you are almost the same age she was." he pauses swallowing, "Judy. I tried to protect you. I'm so sorry. I wish-"

A shrieking tone erupts from the pillars like a five hundred foot, discordant, tuning-fork. The sound is a deafening warble that echoes painfully, on and on. The colossal black shroud overshadowing them is roiling and unfurling towards the ground like a waterfall of molasses. Where it begins to pool, a great wave of dark slime rolls out into the clear water changing it to swirling darkness.

The wave washes past Judy covering her from the neck down in glittering tar. The sand beneath her feet is turning into mud and she finds herself suddenly sinking. The strange, tall Nick is behind her in a few strides, and with difficulty grabs her from under her arms, pulling her out of the sludge. Looking down, she finally notices that the black goop covering her body is not actually tar at all, but an infinite swarm of tiny black worms. They are everywhere, wriggling their way into her grey fur. With a convulsive shriek she slaps at her exposed areas trying to clear them away.

Worms aside, other matters are quickly becoming more pressing. A massive form is rising between the two pillars. Coalescing out of the worms, a beast is taking shape. As large as a two story building, it dribbles and pulses with black ichor. A head of sorts first droops forward like a distended finger and then inflates into a wolfish approximation. Two crimson eyes ignite in its sockets.

Filled with a frozen terror, Judy feels its mind spin into being.

" _Finally_ you have come!" it speaks directly to her thoughts with a voice like gore spilling onto hot cement. It sounds jubilant in the cruellest sense. Judy wants to scream but feels as if she's being strangled. The thing invades her consciousness. It surrounds her with a violent, lustful, hate that continues to intensify.

"You are the last. In the vast All-World, you are your only self that still lives. I'm your creator little one. You are my beloved creation. I bring for you, _a gift_ "

The thing takes two steps forward and is now towering just above her. Great streams of worm ridden fluid run from its body. It has begun to take on a more solid form. It looks like a prehistoric canine. Not made for standing on two legs but for running on four. Emerging with a wet tearing sound from its featureless face a wide toothy maw appears, misshapen and chaotic. A low pulsing rhythm enters its projected voice. Judy feels as if her head is being cracked open. As if the thing is crawling inside her skull.

Now a single axis,  
you enshroud yourself in _Ka_.  
 _You shall see_ the shining vision,  
you shall pass along the stair.  
The plum may be thine weapon.  
The childe may foul thy womb.  
As you sup with the magician, Alice tumbles.  
Thirst, yet taste no water,  
Draw, but give no quarter.  
Let folly writhe within you,  
as the worm infests the heart.  
The rabbit slays the tortoise,  
and breaks,  
 _breaks,  
_ breaks for me,  
Breaks for me the beam.

With those booming words ringing in her head, the thing finally retreats. Lowering its massive muzzle it drops its nose into the black soup. From within it dredges up a figure which it holds by the neck between its teeth. The mammal gasps for breath. Choking and crying he struggles wildly. This is _her_ Nick. Again there is no mistake.

Judy meets Nick's eyes for a moment as he tries to choke out a few inarticulate words. But then the evil thing, grinning like a scythe, puts a light pressure on the sides of Nick's head. The sound it makes is like biting down hard on a ripe cherry tomato. With a quick shake and a crunch, Nick's head separates from his body which tumbles into the muck with a soft splat. The black wolf locks eyes with Judy and leans in towards her. Looking into its burning, crawling, red eyes she feels certain it is about to kill her as well, but instead it breathes deeply through its slitted nostrils and spits the pulped remains of Nick's head at Judy in a spray of skull, fur and brain matter.

* * *

Judy awakes screaming, or more accurately, trying to scream. The problem is, she happens to be choking on her own vomit. Realizing this, she leans forward and begins to slap at her chest.

For minutes she hacks and heaves until every watery chunk of last night's carrot and parsley soup is expunged from her stomach and airways. By the time she can breathe the scream has died from her lips. She lays back gasping, a sound which she muffles with her now slimy pillow.

It is several more minutes before she has a chance at composure. Her first coherent thought is that she needs to call Nick.

Judy fumbles around for her phone in the dark. Clicking it on, the flash of light is blinding, but squinting she manages to find his number and hit the call button. By the time the phone is at her ear the screen is yet another victim of smeared vomit.

The phone rings several times. Judy silently prays that he isn't in danger.

 _"_ _Please answer Nick."_

A tired, familiar voice appears on the other end, "Whyyyy! Carrots.. So early". Stunned for the moment she says nothing. Seconds pass and Nick comes back more hesitantly, "Judy are you there?"

She hates lying to him, but what is she supposed to say? "Hey Nick," she doesn't hide the gravel the hacking and stomach acid adds to her voice, "looks like I've come down with something. I'm calling in sick. You won't need to pick me up this morning. Sorry I woke you."

"Wow, you sound terrible... Hey I'll stop by on my lunch break. Bring you some soup or something." he says groggily.

"No, it's okay. Last thing I want is for you to be getting sick as well. Thanks though."

"Hey, come on Carrots, I spend practically every waking moment with you. If you've got something and I don't, chances are I'm immune. I should book sick as well and we can sit around and watch crappy T.V. all day"

 _"_ _Damn."_

"No way mister. I'm throwing up and, and there are all sorts of unspeakable bodily functions happening over here. Save your sick days for when you're sick. I'll text you hourly updates if you're so worried about getting Judy withdrawal."

"Fine." Nick laughs weakly, "I was just feeling bad because without you around I'm totally going to skip leg day." He sniffs loudly and can be heard fluffing his pillow, "Well… Nick is tired. I'm going to sleep now. Feel better Hopps. I..*Yawn* goodnight."

"Goodnight Nick."

As soon as the call ends Judy realizes she is shaking. It's partly from relief but still... the dream still grips her mind. It was like nothing she had ever known; and that thing... the feeling of it inside her head. It felt like the most diseased, depraved mammal alive stuck its tongue down her throat. "The, ' ** _Worm_** '" she names it aloud in a whisper.

Once she feels she can stand, she goes about the business of stripping her bedding.

She throws everything along with her soiled clothes into a bag. Then it's time for a shower, not long into which Judy feels a creeping panic trail up her spine.

 _"_ _What if it's out there_?"

Somewhere in the dark alleys of Zootopia. Could what she saw somehow be her future? Will she have to face it? Maybe it's a sort of metaphor, or…

She tries to shake the thoughts from her mind by focusing on soaping her body down a second time.

 _"_ _Just a dream."_

After towelling herself off and dressing in new clothes she takes a moment to check herself over.

 _"_ _I still smell kinda like vomit."_

She throws the towel on the bed and presses down for awhile on the wet patch, " _Probably some kind of mattress fee I'm going to have to pay for this."_ She huffs a few times in frustration.

Before Judy can leave, she knows she is going to have to write down the details of what she experienced. Luckily, this is one of those times where it won't be difficult to recall.

From under her bed Judy withdraws a tattered notebook. Anyone trying to read it would find it written in a cipher known only to her. Long ago, she had scrawled the words, 'Judy's Diary' on the front cover and filled the insides with insipid hearts and little sketches, the reality is though: this is a record of her dreams. No mammal, not her parents and especially not Nick, knows about what she sometimes sees. She is determined to keep it that way.

Writing, the memories come quickly, and she records everything meticulously. Near to the end however, when the ' _Worm_ ' had stepped towards her, it said... something.

No matter how much she wracks her brains the words will not come.

 _"_ _Some kind of a rhyme?"_ she thinks _._ But whatever it was is lost to her.

"Shit." she hisses. She keeps her voice down so she doesn't wake her neighbours. Not that there's much chance of that. Past one in the morning they are generally dead to the world.

After a few minutes she still is unable to remember, so she adds a few additional curses to the first and closes the book. The part of the vision where Nick is decapitated and splattered onto her face is left out. She is not likely to forget that part any time soon.

Sighing, she slides off the bed. Never being one for sitting around, Judy grabs the bag filled with her soiled things, and leaves her apartment.

Moments later she is outside. A few blocks away is a 24/7 laundromat that she uses; maybe a five minute walk. She starts out into the abandoned street.

* * *

They say that Zootopia never sleeps, but tonight is uncharacteristically quiet.

It's cold. As cold as this part of the city gets at any point during the year. A bone chilling wind is blowing restlessly along the semi-lit sidewalk.

Immediately Judy regrets leaving the apartment. She sees dark figures in every shadow. Each wind-rattled bit of debris or billowing cafe awning has her ready to bolt. Her head swivels in all directions, and by the first street intersection she decides to upgrade her brisk walking pace to a jog.

 _"_ _It is too empty out here."_

Not a single car or citizen crosses her path. Convenience stores that never close are dark and empty. A pall hangs over the city, like the feeling one gets in an unlit graveyard.

She nearly turns back as a feeling of utter surety falls over her: the laundromat will be inexplicably closed. When she tries to return home she will find herself lost in an empty, darkening, city.

She comes to a stop as goose pimples run up and down her flesh.

 _"_ _I don't remember these shops. What street is this? Where am I?"_

The spell is broken by a passing car which turns in front of her and quickly accelerates away. She _does_ know the street. She walks it every day. She's nearly there.

Sprinting with the bag of laundry bouncing behind her she arrives in short order. The laundromat has a wide all-glass front and a pair of sliding doors which open at a leisurely pace when Judy runs up to the entrance.

She is breathing heavily, dropping her bag nearby as she walks in circles; holding her sides and taking shuddering breaths. Her hands and face are numb from the cold so she works to rub warmth into them. Once she catches her breath, which takes only moments due to the fact that she is in pretty amazing shape. She loads the washer, sets it to run, and sits down.

Thirty minutes pass without a single soul coming anywhere near the laundromat. When the buzzer goes off on the washer Judy bounces out of her chair with a jolt.

"Holy-hell!" It's the first noise she's made since she left the apartment. She finds herself unused to her own voice. She must have been on the verge of sleep. Shuttering slightly, she makes a resolution to swear less after tonight. Nicks more colourful language seems to be rubbing off on her.

Swallowing the receding panic she pulls her laundry out and gets it into the dryer. Judy watches the sheets rotate for a while. Eventually, too tired to stand, she sits down in a wobbly plastic chair with a crack in the seat.

The sheets whip against the sides of the dryer in a continuous drone.

 _Tha-thack, tha-thump_.

She watches and her eyes are growing heavy.

C _ha-Chack, Cha-Chump._

For minutes and minutes.

 _Dad-a-chum? Ded-a-chek? ..._

The automatic glass doors of the laundromat slide softly open.

With a shiver Judy looks up. There is nothing. No one stands at the doorway. The empty street, dimly lit, sits beyond the threshold. Yet, Judy feels as if a poisonous spider is crawling up her leg.

Moments pass. Cold air is swirling into the far corners of the room. Her eyes are cold; she has not allowed herself to blink. The street lamps are dimming. The darkness beyond begins to crawl towards the fluorescent glow of the store's interior

From above the door a huge face comes into view. The size of a train engine. Eyes blazing with red light. The most terrible smile. The world is filled with wild, deafening screaming.

She awakens to the resounding buzz of the dryer finishing its cycle. For a moment she thinks she is going to be sick again. She manages a single shuttering breath. Her heart is thrumming like a tired guitar string that has been cranked to the breaking point, "What's happening" she whispers aloud. "This has to end-this has to end-this has to..."

She is staring at the closed doors of the Laundromat-at the empty intersection beyond. "Just a dream," she continues to rock in the broken chair, "Just a dream". She is watching the street lights change from red to green, to red again, "What do I do? What do I do?"

It is almost five in the morning when a lone bunny finally makes her way home in the thin light of early dawn.

* * *

As the sun rises Judy sits at the foot of her bed, knees drawn against her chest. For hours a creeping sensation has been building in the back of her mind.

Something is watching her. She can feel it.

Ever since her dream at the laundromat she has felt a presence looming just outside the realm of her senses.

More than anything she needs to sleep. But, she can feel it waiting. It is waiting for her to close her eyes. As if creeping behind every shadow, desperately, something is straining towards her. She glimpses it just out of the corner of her eye, but when she turns to look, she finds nothing.

" _If I keep thinking like this I'm going to lose my mind."_ she presses her hands to the sides of her head. " _What am I going to do?"_

So, to keep herself awake, she makes plans and tries to organize her thoughts.

She decides that if there is anyone who can help her it will be a, 'Fifth'. The only place she is going to find one is in the Burrows or somewhere else with rabbits. Although where exactly, is another question.

" _Doesn't matter, I'll find one. Am I a cop, or am I a cop?"_

Her brother might be able to help her as well. That is, if there is still a way to reach him.

Judy stands and begins pacing around the claustrophobic room. Having grown up in a room half the size of her apartment she is surprised at how trapped she feels. But in this moment, with this evil presence hanging over her mind, it feels very small indeed.

" _I'm so desperate I'm going to travel hundreds of miles to talk to some weird, oldworld, midwife, druids. Just because, maybe, in some fantasy world, they might be able to tell me what's happening. I'm so screwed."_

Eventually she can't stand her own thoughts so instead talks to herself quietly. "I'm heading to the Burrows. First train leaves in six hours… I'm going to be on it. Find a Fifth. Figure out how to exorcise this... whatever it is. Get back to my life. Confirm that I am not actually going insane."

" _Perfect plan!"_

Judy grips her ears in anxious frustration. She forces herself to switch mental gears and instead begins to think about the only other pressing matter on her mind; Nick.

Judy has always been smart. In fact, smart is a vast understatement. In rabbit culture she has all the qualities that raise one's station: intelligence, fearlessness, willpower, and ambition. She has never, apart from a few notable exceptions, found herself lacking in self awareness.

That being said, she knew with certainty that she was in love with Nick Wilde pretty early on. Returning to Bunnyburrows after the Missing Mammals case, and despairing for months in self-imposed exile, gave her all the time she needed to sort out her feelings.

It was not long after, having earned forgiveness from Nick, that Judy began to suspect that he felt the same way about her.

Then one night they had gone to a Gazelle concert just days before he was set to leave for police training. Afterwards, he had simply looked at her and she'd known; it radiating off of him like heat from a fire.

The night before he left for training, Judy had kissed him while they were relaxing at his apartment. She had come over to help him pack and to make sure he remembered everything. Nick was shocked at first, but also elated. Once they began, kissing for them came as naturally as breathing.

They didn't spend the night together exactly but definitely got close. Unfortunately, a week or so after Nick came to work at the ZPD chief Bogo must have seen them standing too close, or noticed how they were always touching. Or maybe it was the way they kept making eyes at each other.

Regardless, he called them into his office after roll-call and reminded them that if there was any intra-departmental fraternization happening, he would be happy to transfer Officer Wilde to another police department somewhere far, far away.

After that rude awakening they talked late into the night and eventually realized that neither of them could choose between their jobs and each other. So they did the only thing they could; they made a plan.

They decided to treat the situation like one of Nick's old cons. At work they would be the two most platonic partners who ever lived. When within earshot or possible view of any mammal, they would never touch, never meet eyes, never flirt and never appear as anything but the most professional police officers in the ZPD.

They each took this as a personal challenge, and they broke their own rules at every opportunity. Their failed resolution quickly became something they liked to call, ' _The Dangerous Game'_.

If given a span of ten unmonitored seconds they would find a way to kiss, to touch, to whisper statements of love. They may even have had sex in a place that was totally inappropriate, like the janitorial closet in the ZPD sub-basement.

" _Scratch that. We are pretending that never happened_."

Nevertheless, they are skating dangerously close to a future where they might find themselves separated as partners and out of a job. Judy is fully aware that the whole thing is a ticking time bomb and desperately hopes they get it out of their systems soon. Still, a voice inside her head is saying, " _But I love it, and I can't seem to help myself!_ "

She attributes this strange duality to why she's been swearing so much lately. Just thinking about it has her about ready to burst a blood vessel and she can't contain it any longer, "Shiii-Crackers! What is wrong with me?!"

She hears a light knocking at the door, "Uh, Jude are you ok in there?" a voice asks quietly.

For a second Judy feels a spike of panic, but then she registers that the voice belongs to Nick. She forgets everything and practically dances for joy. Before she stops to think, she unlocks the door and he slips into the apartment.

Nick's head is mostly covered in a baggy grey hoodie. In his hands he has some kind of food and what looks like coffee.

"Hey, are Bucky and Prongs around." Nick says in a whisper.

Trying to contain herself Judy whispers back, "No they left for work not long ago." Her current problems are coming back to her all at once and she feels her little euphoria fading. "Nick what are you doing here? You said you weren't taking a day off."

"Did I say that? I don't remember. One thing you should know about me Fluff is my memory isn't exactly top notch at one in the morning. By the way, you look like hell."

Judy opens her mouth to rebuke him but something is pulling at the back of her mind. From Nick's perspective she looks as if she is going to speak, but then her face goes slack with concentration. As if she is listening for something.

What she notices is the presence that has hung over her the entire night has evaporated. It did the moment Nick stepped into the room. It was gone.

Nick watches her in confusion, "Am I missing something here Carrots? Listen, it's Friday. I told the station we've both come down with something. Not too suspicious really. Now we get a long weekend together. Here, I bought green tea and lentil oatmeal with carrot bits-your favorite." he gives the circular cardboard container holding the oatmeal a withering look.

But Judy is still stunned. _It's gone._ Even if it's just for the moment; and after all the fear and dread... and having Nick show up after seeing him die in her dream. Everything just sort of crashes together.

Tears are gathering in her eyes. Then she is crying.

If there is one true weakness in Nick Wilde it is seeing Judy Hopps cry.

He sets the food down and lifts her up, letting her bury her face into the fur around his neck. The only words Judy manages to say are, "Th-thank you" before talking is again impossible.

Nick carries her to the bed and lies down still holding her to his chest. They lay like this for a short while. She hugs onto Nick's neck with a death grip as he slowly rubs her back in long strokes. He pulls the back of her shirt up and uses the tips of his claws to delicately scratch her back as she begins to calm.

With a few sighs and a sniff, the tears come to an end.

Nick, who has been kissing the top of her head whispers in a low voice, "Sweetheart," he says it un-ironically for perhaps the first time ever, "please tell me what's wrong. We'll figure it out."

And here it is. Judy is going to have to lie to the person she loves most in the world; again.[S13] She feels a sharp pang of guilt, but what can she say. Any attempt at explaining things will make her seem completely crazy. She is going to tell him, somehow, eventually. She is going to make it up to him even if it takes her the rest of her life. For now though she's going to lie, just like he taught her; using as much truth as possible.

"I'm o-ok now that you're here. I just had a re-really bad night. Threw up all over my bed. Had to wash everything. I haven't even slept except for once, and then I had a terrible dream." she pauses for a moment to sniff and wipe her eyes, "You were in it and you died. It was terrible."

Nick continues to scratch her back lightly, "My poor bunny. Well I'm here now so naturally things are going to be much better. What do you think made you sick?"

"Maybe last night's dinner? Plus the dream. I don't know."

"Sounds like a bad one. I know I'd be upset if I saw me die."

Judy nearly chuckles at that, "Shut up." but she pulls herself closer into his chest so that every breath is filled with his scent. She is starting to feel alright for the first time in hours.

Nick moves his hand to the top of her head, "Seriously though Judy. You know I have a lot of nightmares. I know what it can be like. If you ever want to talk about it just let me know."

She nods slowly, muffled against his neck, "I will."

Catching herself suddenly, she realizes she is about to fall asleep. That needs to happen, but not before she deals with what's going on. Nick's arrival changes things; maybe for the better. Reluctantly, Judy pulls herself back and looks at him, "Listen Nick there is something I want to ask you"

Nick rotates his ears forward and raises his eyebrows as if to say, " _Do tell"_

Judy can't help but smile, "I had planned to take the train to Bunnyburrows today. Maybe recover a bit and get in a little relaxation on the farm."

The smile is leaving Nick's face so Judy continues. "You could come with me. Actually, let me put it this way. Nick Wilde please come meet my massive family and keep me company for the weekend. Seriously, please."

Nick's face becomes somewhat grim. Finally, he says, "Carrots. Haven't we been trying to hide that we're together? This seems like a great way to... I don't know… completely do the opposite of that."

Judy jumps in before he can continue, "Yes, but I've been thinking that you are going to have to see them someday. They ask about you all the time and I'm running out of excuses. It's starting to look suspicious."

Nick lets this process for a moment and tries to come up with some kind of rebuttal, "Well I..."

"And," Judy interjects, "I have developed a plan. My parents are ok these days with foxes, but if I told them I was in love with one and have no plans of ever being with anyone else. Well, they might actually disown me. Seriously, my mom would probably end up in mental hospital."

Nick can't help but smile, "Ok fine, let's hear this plan of yours," He waves a hand above his face magically, "wow me."

"Ok." Judy puts on a straight face, "So I call this the 'Wilde-Hopps Indoctrination Inclusion Initiative," she is already failing at this point not to giggle a little bit, "Also known as 'Whiiiiii!'"

"So far… loving it. Please continue."

"Right, so the plan is basically to deny we are dating, while at the same time over the course of multiple visits, make it ever more obvious that we are. We are slowly but surely going to plant ideas in their heads. First, Judy and Nick are in love. Second, Nick Wilde is awesome and upstanding. It'll be a... what do you call it? A long con. So when it finally comes time to tell them we are together they won't really be surprised. In fact, deep down, they will tell themselves that they knew it _all_ along."

Nick lets out a short laugh, "The name of the plan should include, 'Inception' in there as well I think."

Then the smile fades from Nick's face as he looks at her curiously. His usual mask of self satisfaction fading, "Hopps, you really would have excelled at a life of crime. Back in my hustling days, me and you, I can only imagine the jobs we could have pulled. I almost feel bad. It's like you are absorbing all my old wiles by osmosis."

"That's right!" Judy laughs as she gives him a quick kiss on the lips, "Underneath this svelte bunny exterior is a sly vixen, and beneath your crusty hide is the soft beating heart of a bunny."

"A bunny am I?!" Nick exclaims as he rolls himself over top of her, pinning her beneath him, "If I'm a bunny then allow me to remind you of what bunnies do best."

The kiss begins slow but quickly becomes passionate. Judy is about to put a stop to it.

" _Now is not the time. I'm still pretend sick._ _I need to sleep._ "

But as Nick pulls up her shirt and begins trailing kisses down her chest, focusing here and there with a flick of his tongue or a feathery soft nip of his teeth; she is undecided. Eventually, the affection migrates further south, focusing intently. At this point, Judy decides that actually, _now_ is the time. And, for a short while she forgets about fear-she forgets about danger and death.

* * *

Nick Wilde awakens from a light slumber. Judy is still lying peacefully on his chest, sound asleep. Careful not to wake her, he checks the clock and once his eyes are able to focus, he sees that they have slept the day away.

It looks like if they are going to Bunnyburrows tonight they will have to take the evening train.

Nick blinks his eyes in the dim room. Outside the sky is dark grey. It might even be raining, although he can't yet tell.

Slowly, he feels awake enough to try and do a little simple math. He can leave now and gets some clothes from home, shower, and come back. It'll take about an hour if he's quick. Then, they will have enough time to grab a bite, get to the train station, and board the last train to the burrows. It'll be a bit tight though.

Nick, moving as sloth-like as possible, slowly slides Judy off his chest and onto the bed. She makes a few adorable squeals of protest but never fully wakes.

He lies next to her for a while longer. Listening to her breathe as she falls back into a deeper sleep.

Confident that he will be able to sneak out unheard, he dresses.

Before he leaves, he spots the food he brought still sitting where he left it on the floor. He doubts it's any good now so he grabs it and lets himself out of the apartment with a soft click.

As he pushes his way outside onto the street, Nick notices a strange smell coming from the oatmeal. Opening the container he looks inside and is amazed to see a mold has grown over the surface.

Unbelievably, he spots what look like little black worms.

" _Those are definitely worms."_ He recoils in disgust. " _Jesus Lion Christ! It's filled with effing worms!"_

Repulsed he drops the container onto the sidewalk. In his haste he dumps the tea he is holding as well. And once again he spots wriggling within the green liquid, long slender bodies coiling and twining into a loose, glistening tangle.

Although he won't admit it to himself, Nick is slightly nauseated. He is also flabbergasted.

" _How did they get into the food?"_

Quickly walking away from the spilled containers he makes a mental note to call the health inspectors on the cafe where he bought it. He even has half a mind to stop there on his way home and go ballistic. " _What if Judy had eaten that!?"_

Hot anger bubbles inside him most of the way home. Though, once it fades all that is left is a deep feeling of disquiet.

As he steps into the elevator in his building he is feeling strange.

Arriving back at his apartment he shutters, a deep dread building inside him.

" _I shouldn't have left her alone_."

The feeling begins to intensify, and stuffing what he needs into a duffle bag he decides to skip the shower altogether.

Back on the street he realizes that he is sweating from anxiety.

" _What is wrong with me?"_

He decides to forgo public transit altogether and hails a cab. Handing the cabbie a big fare, Nick tells the driver to step on it. And, bewildered, but filled with a terrible certainty that Judy is in danger, Nick finds himself speeding back to her apartment some thirty minute since he left.

Looking out his window he watches as the storm finally breaks and a cold blanket of rain descends upon the city.

A creaking whine follows a loud wooden crack. The sound awakens Judy from a deep sleep. Opening her eyes she finds herself in total darkness.

Even before forming coherent thoughts, Judy's inner ear is sending her strange information.

" _The bed is on an angle."_

She gropes around blindly, hovering her hands across the nearby surfaces. She finds her bedside table. It is also on an angle. The wall is tilted. Somehow, the whole goddamn room is tipped backwards forty-five degrees.

Unseeing, she searches for her phone, accidentally knocking her lamp onto the floor in the process.

" _Damn!"_

Her breathing is coming heavily now-as if she has just been running. Adrenaline pumps through her every vein.

" _Where is Nick?"_

She has touched every surface of the night table. By intuition, she tips it on its face and runs her hands down the wall, hoping to find the phone. For long moments she slaps at nothing, but then her small nails scramble over the familiar plastic surface.

Instantly she grabs it up and thumbs it on; illuminating the pitch black room with a thin blue light.

"NICK!" she calls, but the sound of her voice is muffled, as if she were yelling from beneath a pile of blankets. She waves the phone in front of her and gets small glimpses of the room's four walls.

The window, which even during the darkest night should be open to the ever present lights of Zootopia is completely void. Beyond the glass might be a solid wall or an infinity of starless space. Regardless, it gives Judy a thrill of terror that even cuts through her pounding adrenalin high.

The space around her closet door is filled with some kind of crawling mass. In fact, looking closer the floor seems to be bustling with tiny black shapes.

Judy stands, one foot on her bed and the other bracing against the wall. Her breathing reaches a feverish pitch, accentuating a building horror that threatens to overtake her senses.

The fun-house room suddenly shakes violently. Judy tips towards the wall. The bed rises before her, so that to get to her door she will practically have to climb the mattress.

With a crunching shudder, deep new cracks begin to form in the ceiling.

Looking for any means of escape, Judy turns her attention to her front door; or lack-thereof.

Near the end of her bed, which is now five feet above her, is what looks like a huge, slick, funnel; like the shape of a whirlpool or a black-hole. It stretches outward like the skin of a balloon, becoming narrower at its center.

Another violent tremor shakes the room and a voice inside Judy's head screams at her, " _Move idiot!"_

With a speed that is partly her birthright and partly blind panic, Judy scrambles up the bed holding her phone in her teeth.

With a great leap she hurls herself straight into the center of the tunnel which should be her front door. The surface of it is slick and rubbery, it vibrates under her feet like fatty meat.

She takes no time to think on the awful texture under her paws, or the insects which are flowing out of its narrow depths. Instead, she scrambles and claws against the sides of the thing, unaware as she dislodges one of her toenails in her frenzy.

Going head first, arms forward she squirms her way upwards. Quickly, the space around her diminishes and becomes nearly vertical. Still kicking her legs frantically, and with a great heave, she wedges herself in on all sides; the fleshy tube squeaking in against her body.

Judy tries to draw in breath but finds she can barely fill her lungs. A crawling something, wiggles deep into her ear. She is powerless to stop it.

Horror envelops her mind.

" _It's crushing me! It's crushing me!"_

The tunnel is pressing down; stretching thin or perhaps collapsing. The pressure becomes so great that she hears her joints pop in unison. Her mouth presses open involuntarily, her eyes bulge in their sockets.

Her phone falls from her teeth and flickers on.

Just inches ahead is the unmistakable white washed exterior of her bedroom door, but she is unable to even process this information, because her blood is being pressed through her body and into her brain. Flashes of light burst across her vision.

Judy loses consciousness.

The moment the taxi arrives at Judy's apartment, Nick Wilde bursts out of the car door and charges towards the front entrance. He doesn't even attempt the elevator, instead hurling himself into the stairwell and up four flights of stairs.

" _She's dying!"_

He can feel it. Deep in his guts he can feel it; more surely than anything he has ever felt.

With the rational part of his mind however, Nick promises himself that if he busts into her room and she is completely fine, then afterwards he is going to check himself into a mental hospital.

Running full-tilt, Nick pounds down the narrow hallway and puts the brakes on, coming to a sliding stop in front of Judy's door. He grabs the doorknob, twisting and pulling at it with his full force, but finds it is somehow stuck in place. Black gunk clogs and oozes around the frame. Nick reaches out and touches it with a trembling paw. It's rubbery and a bit sticky, like tar gone soft in the hot summer sun.

A few more experimental tugs on the door achieve nothing, so Nick pulls a credit card out of his wallet and frantically slashes away at it. Finally, finishing minutes later, sweat blossoming all across his body, and with a great heave, Nick attempts to pry the door open once again.

Nothing happens at first, but then, a tearing crackling sound, and all at once the door bursts open. Nick careens across the floor into the wall, but is on his feet again in an instant.

Before him, is a great, fleshy, undulating blackness. Thousands of bugs begin to pour and wriggle from the centre of what should be the doorway to Judy's room.

Nick feels his vision waver for a moment as his mind fights with the reality of what he is seeing. He grasps for his sanity.

" _Dear God… I-I'm not dreaming. Judy... Judy is dying!"_

Nick snaps back into full awareness when something clatters to the floor in front of him; Judy's phone.

For the briefest instant he catches a glimpse of two grey paws sinking into the impossible blackness. Before his fear can stop him, Nick dives forward and thrusts an arm into the sucking tar pit. It pulls at him hard, and he claws at the door frame with his other paw and both feet to keep from being dragged in as well.

Then he feels her-an arm. He fights to get his fingers around her wrist in the pressing confines of the greasy, throbbing abyss.

 _"_ _I've got her!"_

With all his might he pulls. Slowly, painstakingly, she is birthed back into the world of the living. Nick's joints pop, his back and arms straining with effort. Judy's head appears and lulls forward. With a final heave, limp and boneless, she slides out from hell's orifice with a wet, sucking pop.

Nick drags her a short way down the hall, away from the writhing mass of insects spreading across the hardwood floor.

Thick brown sludge, the consistency of petroleum jelly, covers her face. Shaking, Nick wipes it away as best he can.

 _"_ _She isn't breathing."_

Nick takes another second to sweep the sludge from her mouth before beginning CPR. One long breath into her lungs is all it takes for Judy's eyes to snap open as she reels to the side; gasping and hacking up thick gunk.

Reaching into her mouth, convulsively, her face a mask of repulsion and horror, Judy pulls six inches of squirming centipede from deep within her throat. The thing writhes and twists in her hand before being hurled away. She retches again, curling into a ball.

Nick is almost sick as well, but is saved from that at least, when a colossal sound explodes from inside Judy's apartment, causing her door to slam shut. The wood cracks and then implodes inwards into the room. The force of it causes the whole building to shake and bits of drywall to rain down from the ceiling. It knocks Nick right off his feet.

Standing slowly, shell-shocked and bewildered, barely comprehending what is happening, Nick takes a few trembling steps towards the doorway. Glancing inside, he sees the walls and ceiling are simply gone. All that is left are beams, and strips of pink insulation. The outer wall of the building is nothing but brick with an empty hole where a window frame should be.

A few of the building's other tenants begin to appear in the hallway. So, slapping first at a spider on his leg, Nick runs back to Judy and scoops her up into his arms. She doesn't seem fully aware of what's happening.

But, after a moment hanging loosely in his embrace she pulls herself up, pressing her face into his shirt; quietly hyperventilating. Nick decides to worry about that later. Right now he just wants out of here.

 _"_ _We have got to get away from here; far away."_

Neither remembering how they got there, Nick powers out the front doors of the lobby, heading straight for the cab which miraculously, is exactly where he left it. Cold rain pours down on them as they step outside. Before he can get them in the car Judy slaps at his hand.

"Dowwnn." Her voice is raw and barely audible. Nick does as she asks.

Judy takes a moment to bask in the rain, rubbing away some of the gunk in her fur and the mashed chunks of insects peppering her clothes. She doesn't waste more time than necessary though, and they enter the cab soaking wet.

Seemingly unconcerned by the water pooling on his seats, the driver turns to them cheerfully. "Well bowl me over! If it isn't the great Judy Hopps and her partner Nick Wilde. What a love'ily day to meet two eminent persons such as yourselves, you can call me-"

The driver is cut off by Judy who manages to rasp out a few coherent words, "Bunnyburrows. We have. To go. To stop. This."

Any plan is better than no plan, Nick decides; what it includes doesn't much matter. He turns to the driver and says, "I'll give you three hundred dollars to take us to Bunnyburrows."

This is met with laughter, "Caw! Caw! Now that ain't right. In my cab, fares fair and fowls fowl, if you catch my drift!"

Nick fights against his residual shock and focuses his attention on the driver for the first time. He's a black crow with a too-large smile that doesn't touch his stony eyes. His wide, sharp beak glitters almost as if it had been waxed. The logo on his shirt says 'Metallica' although, Nick has no idea what that means, and there is a button with the peace sign pinned to his chest.

Leaning forward, quick as a whip, the bird reaches out and snags a huge cockroach that has been crawling along the back seat of the car, before popping it in his mouth with a crunch.

"Trip will cost ya's two-fifty. As the crow flies it ain't no small trip my dearies, and I can't carry you both. Evolution took my wings and gave me arms ya'see. Har har." The crow cackles again with laughter.

This avian strikes Nick as somehow very wrong. Were this a hustle in the old days he would have turned around and fled half a minute ago. He isn't exactly sure why, but thinking on it, Nick notices the crow switching between a slew of accents he's never heard, his mannerisms totally foreign.

Still, the sooner they get away from here the better; no time to gripe.

Nick fishes the money out of his wallet and hands it over to the smiling crow who clacks in approval. "Payment in full. Now I'll hold up my end. Yessir, I will. We'll take the rock-iron-line, it's a very good road so they say."

The cab jumps to life, Judy's apartment receding into the distance. Nick silently swears to himself that they will never return here, not for all the money in the world-not for anything.

Suddenly, Nick feels his muscles lose control and he starts shaking violently. Everything, all that has happened, flashes before him. It feels as if the ground beneath his feet is turning to mud. That the reasonable secure world he knows is crumbling away-revealing a realm of monsters and supernatural terror.

Nick staves off a full meltdown as he feels Judy crawl into his lap. She is shaking worse than he is. The sight of her trembling, grounds him, and he wraps his arms and tail around her.

From the front seat the crow caws with laughter yet again. "You two are, 'special friends' I take it? How wonderful! Daddy always said, 'let not social mores or moral qualms keep us from the things we most desire.' He got that one from the old saturday night gospel down in hell's kitchen, from the good lord boob-tube, don't cha know. Caw caw caw!"

Nick can't begin to know how to respond to what is being said. Judy is all but catatonic, seemingly unaware of anything, so he decides to keep his mouth shut and simply holds her tighter.

The driver pipes up again as they pull out onto the highway. "Folk around here call me Iago by-the-by. Although, in uptown they know me as Richard, and in lowtown I go by Martin. Around-town, they call me Randall, downtown they cry, 'Walter'. My friends nicknamed me Mr. Hardcase, and you can call me what you like, so long as you don't call me late for dinner!"

Nick just stares at the mad birds cold black eyes through the reflection of the rear-view mirror. Every passing moment he likes where they are less and less. "I think me and my friend are going to try and sleep a little, so if you don't mind I'd appreciate a silent ride from here on out."

"All apologies and no problemo podre. I do tend to yammer on, so they say."

"Thanks."

The cab is finally silent. Rain pounds down around them as they leave the city limits.

For Zootopia, something changes as the three travellers depart further into the night. A collective sigh of relief sounds among the millions of its sleeping citizens, as nightmares give way to more pleasant dreams.

A babe, suffocating in its cradle, manages at last to roll away from a stifling blanket.

An end finally comes to a marathon of incoherent screaming conducted by the old, homeless, schizophrenic who lives under the Fifth St bridge.

The darkness lifts.

It is not gone though, nor can it ever be, not truly. It merely shifts southward, travelling at seventy miles an hour, deep into the empty countryside.


	3. Savage Wilde Hopps

Nick looked down at his lap to where his partner had just dropped a square box wrapped with a bow. On his desk she placed a coffee (from his favorite place nonetheless) and a quart of blueberries.

She wasn't meeting his eyes; her hands pulled up in front of her as she twisted her fingers together nervously.

"Nick, this is just my first attempt at saying I'm sorry… I know I've been avoiding you all week - not answering your texts, and sending your calls to voicemail. I - I've been so scared after what happened... and that _conversation_ we had... that you would hate me. That we couldn't still be friends. That, y-you wouldn't still want to be my partner anymore."

Judy quickly glanced up to look into his eyes, but found his expression inscrutable. Nick, having already decided to play things close to the vest, said nothing, instead opening the box she had handed him. Inside was a tie, patterned silver and green. It was definitely to his taste. A week ago he would have been over the moon.

"Judy, are you serious right now?"

"Wh- you don't like it? T- that's okay I-"

"This is a pity gift, Judy. It's a **pity** tie. You might as well have gotten it inscribed, 'Sorry I don't love you Nick. Best wishes Judy Hopps.'"

"Nick I- I'm sorry. I just wanted... please, just tell me what I have to do to make this right."

She was looking at him directly now. Her face pleading. She already seemed close to tears.

"Judy do you have any idea how crappy this week has been for me. Against my better judgment I finally confessed my feelings to the mammal I love. Then she shoots me down, (brutally I might add), freaks out at me, and refuses to talk. You know you've hurt me a few times in the past but this seriously takes the cake."

She grimaced with remorse, her ears falling flat against her back, "I can't defend what I did. I keep failing you as a friend. But, this time it happened because I **do** love you… just, not in the way you want me to. I reacted badly and I'm so, so sorry. I've wanted to say that to you almost since the moment I ran away."

Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I love you Judy. I really do. And, you know what? I think I always will. If you ever thought for a moment that I could hate you, then you actually _are_ a dumb bunny."

Judy couldn't hold back the small note of relief in her voice or the thin stream of tears that began trickling down her face. "I am dumb - really. I am so dumb. Standing before you, Judy Hopps, the ultimate walking bunny stereotype."

Nick dropped his indifferent facade, "I will never abandon you. I will always be your friend. But Judy, I'm a long way from forgiving you for this."

"I- I totally understand."

"There are a couple things that you are going to have to do. You are going to have to tell me what really happened. Carrots, you have been flirting with me for months. The touches, innuendos, hanging out… snuggling. Sleepovers, Judy. Sleeping in the same bed, style, sleepovers. I mean, come on. What did I miss?"

"You're right. I… this is absolutely my fault. You have to understand. I grew up with hundreds of siblings. In rabbit burrows we often sleep close together, cuddle and snuggle. It's a comfort thing, totally not romantic. I've been so lonely - sleeping in a bed by myself. You are so close to me, you are like my family. No, you **are** my family. It just feels so natural to lie next to you. I knew that it might be... misunderstood, but, being with you just makes me feel so safe and happy - it's a bit like being at home."

"You know that sounds a lot like love to me Fluff. But, never mind. How about the party? You were all over me. Judy, you flipping scent marked me! We kissed for twenty minutes. You had your hand down my pants and you-"

"I know! Alright, I know! Come on you dumb fox, I have never been anywhere near that drunk before in my life. I was in heat, and… look; I'd probably have gone home with Bogo if he'd have let me."

"Wow Carrots, that both disturbs me deeply, and makes me feel _really_ special. So you are saying you don't find me attractive? Not even a little bit?"

"No."

"No? Just no? Because while you were grabbing my junk, you kind of went on about how hot I was, and in very specific detail."

"No, I'm sorry Nick. I'm a bunny. I can't find you attractive."

"What does being a bunny have to do with it? If you are going to lie to me Judy, then this ' _forgiving you_ ' thing is going to take longer than I thought."

"Okay fine! I find you a little bit attractive. I don't want to hurt your feelings Nick... but, there are an equal number of things I find unattractive about you - none of which are your fault at all! The alcohol kind of made those things go away, and caused the things I _do_ like, to, to… come into focus."

Nick couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "I don't even know where to start with that, vague, sort of insulting, little tidbit. Look, I know that was… well a total disaster."

"That's the understatement of the century."

"Yes. You're right. It was the single most frustrating, embarrassing and otherwise awful night of my life. Try to understand here Fluff. I had imagined for months what our first time would be like." Nick shook his head in frustration and rubbed his hands over his flattened ears. "I wanted things to be perfect and what I got was a nightmare."

 _It had been a nightmare. They had been beyond wasted. Images began flashing in front of both their eyes of the night in question: Kissing Nick. Nick vomiting into a random shoe box and then trying to hide it in his closet. Judy chipping her tooth on his right canine. Nick swearing at his… uncooperative fox-parts. Heat crazed Judy sobbing and locking herself in the bathroom. Waking up in the shower, which she had left running all night, subsequently flooding the top floor of Nick's house. Being unable to find a single item of her clothing and later realizing she had left them in the cab._

Judy shuddered violently, "Yeah… but, hey, I bet we will be able to look back on it and laugh someday. Still way too soon… but someday."

The look on Nick's face said that he doubted that was true. For a minute the conversation seemed to run dry. Nick mulled over what had been said and after a period of consideration decided to try again.

"Let me tell you how I am seeing this. You say you feel comfortable around me. You want to snuggle with me. You find _parts_ of me to be attractive. Carrots, as far as dating goes, that is a pretty good base to work with, at least in my opinion. Can't you... can't I… just take you on **one** date. This time it will be perfect I swear. No alcohol whatsoever, and It'll be totally platonic - I'm talking, hand-holding is the limit. Just give me a chance to woo you a little. Maybe, you know... you will discover something you didn't expect. We never had a real chance at this. What can one little date hurt?"

Judy was shaking her head sadly, "You don't understand. Nick, you are amazing. You deserve the funniest, most beautiful, honest, vixen in the world. You-"

"I don't want a vixen. I never have. I want a bunny. I want-"

" **I want a bunny too!** "

The room echoed with Judy's outburst.

After several tense moments she continued, "I want to someday get pregnant. Have kids - my kids. I know how selfish that is. I know adoption is a wonderful thing. But I want what I want. You have no idea how against even the idea of us becoming mates my family would be. They, (and I truly mean this) they might very well break ties with me forever. I have fought to be a cop all my life. I want to serve and protect, but I also want to show other rabbits just what we _are_ capable of. I want the next generation to be able to say that at least someone went out there and did it. And maybe, just maybe, that will inspire them to do the same. Nick, if I were to get involved with you, do you know what rabbits would say when my name was mentioned: immoral, disgusting, deviant. The fact that I did something that none of them thought was possible would no longer matter. Being with you, it would eclipse everything else… it would kill my dream. To top it all off, I don't know if inter-species relationships can ever really work... I don't know that they are **meant** to work. I realize how backwards that sounds but it's... it's what I was taught and I guess… it's what I believe..."

A long silence followed her final words. She had forced it all out - like bile. It would hurt him, she knew that. Later, she would no doubt replay her words and let them cut away at her soul, but for now, she had to say them. She had to shut him down as much for him as for her.

The sun had set. The room had grown colder. In the diminished light Judy could see tears collecting in the corners of Nick's eyes. The look on his face was one of acceptance and also of utter devastation."

Nick seemed to muster a bit of himself and he choked out a single sentence, "C-could you leave me alone for a while."

Judy tried to think of the words to say to make things even slightly better, to repair what had been broken, but found nothing. The expression on Nick's face was so painful for her to witness. The sick feeling inside her heart so great, she ended up doing the only thing she manage, and all but ran out the door.

A very long and eventful month later…

Nick and Judy sat together in their usual seat in the bullpen. The chief wouldn't be arriving for at least another ten minutes, and Judy was incessantly tapping away at her phone. Every few minutes she would hold up the screen to Nick and say, "How about this one?" to which Nick would answer,

"Nope."

"Come on Nick you didn't even look! Listen, she's a desert fox, twenty-eight years old." Judy wiggled her butt in the chair as she described the profile, "That flower shop down in Marble square, that's her shop; Daisy Darpaw. I've been texting her on this dating app for a couple of days and she seems really sweet."

"That's great Carrots, you two will no doubt be very happy together."

"Quiet. I've set this up perfectly. As you know, I have the uncanny ability to mimic your snarky mannerisms. Of course, **I** make you sound charming instead of annoying."

"That hurts Fluff-Butt. Sounds like the poor girl is being set up for disappointment."

"Please Nick, just give her a shot. It'll just be coffee. Have a chat, make a new friend, maybe meet the vixen of your dreams. What do you have to lose? I will handle everything, so all you have to do is be in attendance."

"This whole thing has just reached a new level of creepy on so many levels. Please, stop obsessing over my love life, Carrots, I'm begging you."

"No-can-do, I made a promise to be your eternal wing-mammal. When I make a promise, I keep it, and when I decide to do something the only outcome I'm willing to accept is **total** success."

"Have you ever considered that this approach you have to dating is maybe why those bunny suitors you attract always seem to disappear after the first date?"

"I'm a bit intense - don't expect me to apologize for it."

"Your neighbours are starting to rub off on you."

"Pff, yeah, maybe. So, what do you say? Will you at least sit down with Daisy? Just for an hour?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

Nick could sense the beginnings of an argument on the horizon; one that had been brewing for weeks. He realized it was probably best not to have it in the bullpen, but at the same time, he was growing tired of avoiding it; of playing this game with her. Outwardly they seemed back to their old selves. Laughing and joking, even flirting like they used to. Underneath it though, when others weren't looking, they were engaged in a kind of cold war, filled with constant moments of ceasefire. They had nearly ended up beyond the bounds of intimacy enjoyed by friends, even best friends, several times. The aftermath of which was always a fight or total denial. The whole thing was an insane clusterfluffle and Nick wasn't blameless by any means. Hell, self destructive behavior was nothing new. Still, the unhealthy mess that of, whatever they were, was taking a heavy toll. One that he wasn't sure he could stand to pay any longer.

"I'm not interested. She's... not my type. When I'm ready to start dating you know exactly what I'm going to be looking for."

"Yeah, and I know that you're going to end up getting hurt. I know that it's never going to work. Come _on_ Nick. You're killing me!"

Just then, to Nick's intense relief, Bogo came striding in with a proverbial and ever-present rain cloud hanging over his head. "Shut it! All of you!"

Judy flicked off the dating app and stuffed her phone into her pocket.

Bogo took a moment to properly stare down the room. "Everyone will be continuing their assignments from last week." He let that settle for a few seconds as he glanced around. "I realize things have been slow lately. And, due to this, I have been noticing a growing level of complacency throughout the entire precinct. To remedy this issue I've taken the liberty of hiring a new member to our support team."

At that moment a rabbit walked through the door and stood next to the podium Bogo was standing behind.

He was taller than Judy, with piercing blue eyes, and grey fur so light it could almost have been white. The tops of his ears as well as his cheeks were marked by black tiger stripes, which appeared to Nick to be some kind of fur tattoos; although, they had been so expertly done he wasn't exactly sure.

Bogo hadn't spoken since the newcomer entered the room so the rabbit took the silence as an invitation to introduce himself. He carried a light, but refined accent; enunciating and wrapping his mouth precisely around his words in a melodic voice.

"Good morning. My name is Jack Savage and I've been hired here under the title of Professional Skill Development Counsellor. If you are wondering what that means, I don't blame you. To put it simply, I am tasked with assessing your strengths and weaknesses. After I have done that, I will work with you one-on-one to improve your skills, so as to make each and every mammal here a more well-rounded officer. You're probably wondering how a small mammal such as myself intends to do that. Well, over the last fifteen years I have taught at the royal military academy in Renhearth. I have been on the ground leading operations in multiple active warzones. For several years I was with the Animalia Intelligence Agency as well as the Special Forces. Before leaving the military I held the rank of major."

One of the larger mammals from the back of the room called out snidely, "So what the hell are you doing here then?"

Chief Bogo breathed in deeply and the officers present all prepared for the imminent explosion but Jack interrupted him before he had a chance to let loose. "It's quite alright chief. It is a legitimate question. I've spent the last decade in a job where secrets were the currency by which I lived my life and I have no desire to continue that trend. So, I am going to begin by telling you the truth."

As he said this, Jack reached down and pulled up on his left pant leg, revealing to everyone present that his foot and ankle were actually clever prosthetics. Fake rabbit fur ended a few inches up his shin, becoming a titanium pole, which connected to a stump located just below his calf. He held the fabric of his pant for several seconds before dropping it.

"The truth is I am no longer of use to the AIA or the ASF. When I told my superiors I wanted to move to Zootopia, they created a position for me here at the ZPD. Make no mistake, the job I've been given here is basically a retirement package. I could easily sit at my desk and play zoitaire for the next twenty years and never be fired, let alone reprimanded. That, however, is not what I intend to do. I have knowledge and skills that will be useful to you. The chief has informed me that I can have one officer at a time, for five day stints, but only if they choose to volunteer. Should any of you wish to do so, please come and see me and we will arrange it. With that, I thank you all for your time. I hope, and look forward to working with each of you."

Bogo's eyes were actually bulging a little by the end. He got it under control quickly and addressed the room, "Thank you, Mr. Savage, for that very, ' _candid_ ' introduction." Then re-addressing those seated, "What he said is true, no one is required to sign-up for personal development training, **but,** I strongly suggest that you take this opportunity. I've gone over Mr. Savage's service records and they are impressive to say the least. I want someone to begin the training as of now through to the end of the week. If no one volunteers to go first, then prepare to be vollen-told. Who's it going to be?"

* * *

At one point during Jack's speech Nick's gaze fell to Judy. The look in her eyes, as she stared at the rabbit standing in front of them, could easily have been described as _dreamy_. Nick found himself fighting a war inside his own head.

" _So this is it. This blue eyed little war hero is going to be the one who puts the final nail in the coffin. Judy will get to know him. It'll be love at first sight. Hangouts with Nick will turn into hangouts with Nick and Jack, and then just Jack. No… I won't allow myself to suffer this sad soap opera. I can't stomach it!"_

Meanwhile, Bogo had just asked for a volunteer.

Nick, still focused on Judy's expression, witnessed the exact moment, which in her mind, she had decided to be the first - her body beginning to tense, jaw clenching with barely suppressed excitement that was the signature of her exuberant nature.

" _Accept it Nick, she cannot, will not, see you as a mate. Give it up. Let her be happy. Be there at the wedding and make a nice speech. Get invited over for barbecues and watch them enjoy their perfect life with their boatload of adorable kits. You've got a jumbo sized shit sandwich sitting right in front of you son, and the only way you can move forward is to take a big fat bite."_

"I Volunteer!" Nick literally screamed it just as Judy's hand was beginning to rise.

The entire room was stunned silent by his outburst. Nick felt his ears jut out in embarrassment.

"Sorry, just… excited! Like I said, I volunteer for the, uh, thing."

Bogo positioned his glasses over his snout, "Wilde, you are the _last_ mammal I expected. What exactly are you trying to weasel here?"

"Chief, weasels are some of the most misrepresented mammals in Zootopia and I would appreciate it if you didn't use those kinds of slurs. As for volunteering, I underestimated a bunny once and I don't plan to let it happen again."

The chief huffed, "Whatever, Hopps you're with Pennington and Andersen for the week. Wilde, you will report to Savage at once. For the next five days consider him to be your superior. Thankfully, I won't need to see you here again until next Monday." With a final ill tempered survey of the room, Bogo waved a hoof, "Dis-missed!"

The officers in attendance began to filter out on mass. Francine waved her trunk at them happily as she tromped her way out the door.

Judy just squinted at Nick. It felt like the little bunny was trying to drill a hole in his skull with her stare. Finally, she pointed two fingers at her eyes and then flipped them around towards him, speaking low, "I don't know what you're up to but I'm going to find _out_. You have a date this Saturday at five, Coffee Junction on Railway Avenue. Try and ' _fox_ ' your way out of this one and there - will - be - **pain**." Then in her usual bubbly voice, "Have a great week Nick. I'll miss ya!"

Moments later she literally hopped out the door.

" _God she can be scary sometimes…"_

Sitting alone, lost in his thoughts, Nick didn't notice at first, but something was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to tingle. Alerted by the sensation, he scanned the room only to find that the other bunny, Jack, was still standing exactly where he had been since the start of the briefing.

" _He's so quiet. How did I not notice him?"_

"Uh, hey, Jack right? The whole weird, 'thing' you're doing is uh... pretty neat. Probably won't make you many friends at parties though."

Jack continued to gaze at him unblinking. His look was almost in the same category as Nick's own patented 'smug' face. However, Jack was wearing an expression that Nick might have described as a mixture of, 'violently neutral', and 'boredly impassive'.

"Yeah so, what kind of a name is Savage anyway? Bout' the least rabbity name I've ever heard. No offence."

Jack finally came to life, walking up to Nick with his arms crossed, "What was it that alerted you to my presence a moment ago?"

"Sorry, what was it? I don't know what-"

"You were daydreaming, and then suddenly something made you wake up and look around the room. What was it?"

Nick opened and closed his mouth in surprise as he tried to process the question, "I- I don't know. A feeling I guess. You know that feeling of being watched, like a little itch at the back of your mind... actually, that sounds crazy, forget I said that."

Jack smiled for the first time since he had entered the room, "No, you are right. What you did was something most of the officers here may never fully achieve. By that, I mean you listened to your instincts. Being tuned into that part of yourself is something I suspect you gained from your time on the streets - from thinking on your feet. It's a valuable skill, something that can't be taught. I'm not surprised though, after all the impressive things I've heard about you. "

Nick crossed his arms feeling somewhat defensive and a little embarrassed. " _Is he praising me?"_

"It seems you know quite a lot about me."

Jack nodded while maintaining his intense eye contact, "I admit that, of everyone here, I was most interested in getting to work with _you_ , Officer Wilde. And to answer your other question, my birth name was 'Clover', which is about as stereotypically bunny as you can get. Also, for the record, I'm actually part hare."

Nick couldn't stop himself from following that with barely contained mirth, "So what do you prefer to be called - a Habit or a Rare? I should also ask... Officer Hopps is pretty sensitive about being called 'cute'. Is that word going to be a problem for you as well?"

Jack's smile widened, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "To be perfectly honest, you can call me whatever you so desire, including cute. I like to think I can give just as good as I get, so be prepared for swift retaliation if that's the road you choose to go down."

"Alright then Stripes, I'll be sure to take that into consideration."

"Good to hear Nicholas. Now, first thing I want you to do is to go get some civilian clothes on and meet me out front. Leave your badge and gun in your locker."

"Only my mother calls me Nicholas."

"You call me Stripes, I call you Nicholas - tit for tat. I'll see you in ten minutes... Nicholas."

Just as Jack was starting to head out the door, Nick spoke a final time from behind him.

"Hey, Clover, any chance you'll tell me what we're going to be doing this week."

"Well Piberius, first I was thinking we would get something to eat. Then, after a bit of preparation and a few drinks, I intend to hustle a couple of very bad mammals out of some very valuable information."

Nick was left standing alone, both, slightly interested, and decidedly unsure. " _How the hell did he learn my middle name? Why am I even doing this? Just to delay the inevitable for one more week? When did I become so pathetic?"_

His internal struggles aside, Nick only knew one thing for sure; he needed to regain his balance. He also needed to, and in as short a time as possible, get a read on this unusual rabbit; Jack Savage.

* * *

The drive to Tundratown had been quiet. After thirty minutes sitting in the clean but unremarkable interior of Jack's car, they came to a tiny, nearly unmarked alcove, which led to a set of stairs on the mostly deserted road.

Parking on the snowy, industry surrounded street, Jack stepped out of his car and motioned for Nick to follow. The two trudged up creaky wooden steps to a dented metal door with no apparent handle. Jack placed his hand against it briefly before Nick heard a soft click and witnessed as it swung toward them ever so slightly. The rabbit hastily slipped inside. "Close it behind you."

Nick followed carefully. He had begun to feel uneasy about everything that was happening and his senses were kicking into a heightened level of alertness.

Following Jack, Nick was momentarily stunned.

Inside it was warm and bright. The floors were hardwood, while the ceiling was painted piping and metal beams, almost two stories high. The windowless space was huge but inviting with several couches and throw rugs arranged across the floor. In the corner was an open kitchen - a huge marble counter top dominated area, surrounded by high stools and illuminated by elegant, low hanging Edison lights.

Nick spotted a massive wall mounted television, a well stocked bar, and a spiralling staircase which led up to a loft style bedroom. Still in awe, Nick's attention was finally drawn away from the spectacular apartment when Jack pressed a button by the door and a fireplace across the room sprang to life with a soft whoosh.

"Throw your coat anywhere. Do you like halibut?"

Nick was still too stunned to approach the current conversation with his usual level of snark. "I love it. Haven't had any in awhile. Lost most of my luxuries when I had to pay my back-taxes."

"Well, I've been told I make a passable filet. Hopefully it won't disappoint. Do you feel like a beer or would you prefer wine. I have a nice red and a tolerable white."

Nick laughed, "Well since you sold the white so… very… uh."

His mind had been all awhirl at everything that was happening. So much so, that he had failed to ask even the most basic of questions. "Is this where you live?"

"It is indeed."

"And you are what? Making brunch?"

Jack was just opening the refrigerator when he spoke again, "You are again correct my good Mr. Wilde."

"And you are okay with me drinking alcohol while on duty," Nick checked his watch, "at 10:45 in the morning."

Jack placed a few items on the counter top. "I have some champagne. We could mix it with orange juice and make mimosas if you feel that is a more appropriate refreshment for this early hour. But, if you're referring to police regulations, like your delightful chief mentioned this morning, I'm currently your superior, so I make the rules. And, I feel like a few drinks before lunch is a must."

Nick found himself in the rare situation where he was utterly lost for words. Jack had already pulled out some pans when he motioned to him,

"Come on, take a seat at the counter. Mind if I call you Nick by the way? For what I have planned it will help if we are able to skip past some of the formalities."

Nick let his eyebrows perk slightly, "Fine by me, Stripes. Care to let me in on these plans?"

Instead of answering Jack just smiled and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. Using his teeth he popped the cap off the bottle, shot Nick a wink, and spit it half way across the kitchen into a blue bucket marked 'recycling'. It ticked off the wall before dropping into the intended receptacle. Jack set the cold beer out for Nick and resumed brunch preparations.

Nick's eyebrows went up all the way, "That's a neat trick. You need to show me how you did that."

"Sorry, trade bunny secret. I'd show you, but then I'd have to hug you."

"I see."

"Hmm, so Nick, I was hoping you would allow me to test you a little bit before we start."

"I've never been one for tests really."

"Don't worry, for you, this should be easy. Just tell me what you've been able to gather about me in the short time we've been acquainted. If I'm impressed, I'll not only tell you the plan, but I'll put you in charge of executing it."

"Putting me in charge on day one? I didn't really take you for the trusting type."

"I'm not. Or at least I wasn't. Things are different now though. I made a promise and now I'm just waiting to see how it all pans out. But that's not important. Go ahead, give me your best impression - in your honest estimation, _who is_ Jack Savage?"

Nick took a moment to consider. How much of his hand should he show? He unconsciously took a sip from his beer before remembering that it was still ten in the morning.

"I've never seen someone, with a prosthetic like yours, walk with such a natural gait. You must have spent ages practising to make your stride as smooth as it is. When you showed us your leg this morning, I could see your scars were still red and raised, although fully healed. So, I'm guessing it happened what? Two years ago at the most. It causes you pain, maybe a lot. Willing to bet your leg isn't the extent of the wound either. I noticed as well, the way you hold eye contact with me. When I flash my teeth you become more receptive in your body language. In my experience, when confronted with teeth and claws, just about every prey animal I've ever met - they pull back, even if it's in the tiniest of ways. I don't think it's possible to fully get over that kind of instinct unless of course, you actually _like_ teeth. And at the risk of causing insult, I'm guessing, for you, that is the case. You have a spot on your ring finger where the fur has grown in flat, you eat fish... so here is my rough guess.  
You were married. And, strange as it sounds, I'm pretty sure it was to a predator. Taking a shot in the dark I'm going to say... a Siberian tiger, judging by your markings. They look pretty cool by the way, although they make you stick out like a sore thumb. You'll be remembered just about everywhere you go, so I'm guessing you got them after you stopped being a spy, or whatever. Anyway, since you got the tattoos, maybe as a memento? I think your wife likely died, or won't return your phone calls. If I go by my gut though, I would guess she died - around the same time you lost your foot. How's _that_ for a start?"

Jack's face had become very sober. Nick could see that he wore a mask much like his own. He was aiming for a reaction from Jack, just to level the playing field a bit, but now he hoped he hadn't stepped over the line.

"I'm impressed, and you were correct on almost all accounts. I came here to train members of the ZPD, yes, but I had an ulterior motive. I am willing to tell you everything if you are agree to keep the sensitive parts of what I reveal a secret. You aren't required to go along with this mission of mine and you should know that it won't be sanctioned by the ZPD in any way. If you don't help me though, that will be it. Believe it or not, you are my only real hope at success, so the decision of whether this ever moves forward is up to you."

Nick listened passively. He really was quite curious to know what Jack was talking about. He also considered that if the rabbit was about to suggest something illegal, he might have found a way to nip his little 'Jack Savage' problem in the bud.

"So, are you saying you planned on training members of the ZPD in the hopes that someday _I_ would volunteer?"

"That's right. I had expected it to take some time. It was a stroke of blind luck that you were the first."

Nick locked eyes with the strange rabbit for a moment, waiting for him to flinch or back down. he didn't.

"Alright, I can agree to be discrete, this stays between us."

Jack allowed himself a real smile for perhaps the first time since they had met. Something about it actually warmed Nick a bit. It reminded him of something. It made Jack suddenly look younger - more fragile.

"As I said before, you were mostly correct in your assessment but you missed a few key facts. First, my Husband, Marco, was a Siberian tiger-"

"Wait, did you say husband?"

"Yes, and you were correct again when you said that he died at the same time that I lost my leg."

Nick rapidly felt his sour demeanour changing for the better. "So you're gay? Like one hundred percent, not into girls, dead-to-rights, homosexual… for-life gay?"

Jack just looked at Nick for a moment with an odd, slightly put-out expression before saying, "Is that going to be a problem Officer Wilde?"

" _Oh my god this is too good! Judy is going to bomb hard! I am_ _ **so**_ _going to mess with her."_

"Problem? Are you kidding me? I love that you're gay! And inter-species, with a massive height difference to boot, wow. You guys were pioneers. I support the heck out of that. Seriously, you just made my day! ...uh, and… uh, and Jack I… I'm sorry to hear that you lost your husband. I know something of what it's like to lose the person you love the most."

A range of emotions crossed Jack's face as Nick spoke, and by the end he had softened greatly, his eyes slightly glazed.

"That's… it's nice to finally meet someone who does."

Nick was inwardly shocked to see the barriers of Jack's facade drop for a few seconds. In that time he glimpsed a face he knew all too well. It was the face he'd worn in the days after Judy had rejected him; the face of a broken heart.

Collecting himself, Jack cleared his throat as he went about flipping the fish that was frying in the pan; adding a little salt. "So, back to what I was saying. My husband and I were in the same squad. We were a part of a small and highly skilled group that specialized in anti-terrorism. During one of our operations, the car that Marco was in ran over an IED and was destroyed. A piece of shrapnel from the explosion cut through _my_ vehicle and severed my leg, another shard pierced my abdomen and slid right up next to my spine. I spent almost two years recovering both mentally and physically. The tattoos I wear are, like you said, a way for me to remember him. I also decided to take his last name. Something I was never willing to do when he was alive. We spent so much time just hiding what we were… I was afraid and ashamed of what others would say. It's something I will regret for the rest of my life... I swore though, I will never live like that again."

Jack lapsed into silence, his expression had become grim, his walls again faltering as his eyes became watery; but, he didn't shed tears. Nick sensed a deep well of feeling churning just below the surface of Jack's stoic features. He couldn't help but feel something of a kinship with him. And now that he knew Jack wasn't going to be a rival for Judy's affections, Nick even found himself wanting to befriend this unusual rabbit.

"I'm sure he would have been proud of how far you've come."

Again, Jack smiled sadly, "I hope so. But, there is still something I need to do in order to make things right. You see, the explosive that took out our convoy was designed here in Zootopia. It was military grade and that was how it was able to penetrate our vehicles armour. I've spent every free moment of the last few years trying to figure out who sold the insurgence such advanced weapons, as well as how they got out of the military's hands. The crux of all this is that _you_ , Nick, happen to be acquainted with the two arms dealers who sold the bombs that killed my husband. So, what I need from you is help in getting close to them."

Nick felt an icy shudder travel up his spine. "I- I never dealt in weapons. Way too high profile for me. Guns are rare in Zootopia and if there was even a whisper of them I would have made myself scarce."

"I believe you." Nick was relieved to see no hidden accusation in Jack's eyes as he continued, "The two mammals in question have only recently upped their game. You would have known them before they started seriously selling weapons. Do you remember an Andrey Scaro and Pavel Znarlvitch?"

"Andy and Pasha? Y- yeah, they were a couple of polar bears. Hired muscle who worked for Mr. Big back in the day. From what I remember, someone caught them being a little bit more then friends, and by that I mean grand-mama found them sixty-nining in the wine cellar. After that they were kicked out of the family and excommunicated. I haven't spoken to either of them for nearly a decade."

Jack removed the fish from the pan. After cutting the fillet in two, and placing it alongside a few fresh vegetables, he said, "In the last ten years those two have done well for themselves. They're married now, and kept the last name Znarlvitch. About five years ago they opened a nightclub. You may have heard of it, 'The Jungle'. It caters to a very wide variety of tastes; LGBT as well as interspecies. Recently, they've been using the club as a meeting point for drug and weapons deals."

Nick swallowed the bite of fish he was savouring. He had to admit, it was delicious. "If they sell guns and drugs why isn't this something that could be given over to the ZPD?"

"Unfortunately, I have very little actionable proof. At least none that I can give to the ZPD without opening Pandora's Box. The Znarlvitch's are also seen by many to be community leaders in promoting tolerance and funding gay outreach. No-mammal at the ZPD or city hall is looking to bring these two down. Not yet anyway."

Nick scratched at his muzzle in thought. "If your plan is to take revenge through violence I won't be participating."

Jack shook his head, "No, that goes against a promise that I made. I brought some pretty advanced tech with me from my last career. Give me a minute alone with one of their cell phones or computers and I'll have everything I need. I want them in jail, not dead. More than anything, I want to find out who it was that sold them the explosives. Once I have enough evidence, a friend of mine at the AIA will pass it on to the authorities for me."

Nick sat back as he chewed another mouthful of his meal. Taking a long draw from his beer, he tapped his fork on his plate a few times before finally coming to a decision. "Fine, I'm in. Sounds more fun than professional development training anyway. However, I'm not getting killed for this. If I get the slightest feeling that things are going south then we both walk, no complaints or questions asked."

Jack nodded, and offered his hand. "Deal. This is going to be as low risk as we can make it - no weapons, no wires."

"Hmm," finishing his brunch, Nick nodded. Shaking Jack's hand he pushed his plate away, "So you said you had a plan. Care to explain?"

Jack actually grimaced slightly, "Truth be told it's fairly simple. I'll assume a false identity and accompany you to the club as your date. When you get a chance, you contact our two polar bears. At some point during the ensuing conversation you'll find me an opportunity to get ahold of one of their phones or distract them while I gain access to their private computers. I'm embarrassed to admit that's as much as I have. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted you to take charge of the plan."

Nick finished his beer in one long swig before letting out a resounding belch. "Well, it looks like you really do need my help. And you expect me to be your 'date' huh?"

"Is that going to make you uncomfortable?"

"...No. Hell, I've pulled hustles before where I was dressing in drag for weeks. Went so far once I ended up getting to second base with a sleazy skunk with a shaving fetish."

Jack tried to stifle a snort of laughter but failed, "Okay, I would very much like to hear this story from the beginning."

"Sorry Stripes, I've got my own trade secrets to protect. Anyway, what I was getting at was that firstly, you are going to be my fiancé. It'll play better with our gay, married, marks. I can spin for sympathy a hundred different ways if I decide to reveal your peg leg."

Jack expression soured.

"Is _that_ going to be a problem?"

Jack twisted his lip before shaking himself slightly. "I'll be fine. What else should we do?"

"Well, when we get in there I want you to take on a more submissive role. Be shy, quiet and follow my lead. The point being that the meeker you are, the more likely they'll be to dismiss you, and that's going to be what gets you close enough to steal their data."

"Fine, meek has never been my style but I can play the part. What else?"

"This is likely going to take more than one night. We need to maintain a presence at the club for a few days. Just enjoy ourselves and if at all possible get into the eye line of Andy and Pasha. If they see us a few times, just minding our own business, they'll be more at ease later on. I don't think we should confront them, if at all possible, until day three or four."

Jack was nodding again and looking mollified, "I agree. I felt that we needed to spend the week building a presence for ourselves before making a move. I didn't think you would be willing to put that level of time into this so I didn't mention it."

"Why do you cute bunnies always underestimate me? I'm a professional. Or I used to be anyway. When we make our move, we'll be ready. So, what's the name of this persona of yours?"

"Jake Lapins. I have a full set of identificati-"

"Seriously? Your name is Jack and you go with Jake? How hard would it be to change the name by tonight?"

"Very hard."

"Impossible?"

"No."

"Good. Get yourself all made up and get a new driver's licence. Call yourself… Max or something. Don't go nuts with the fur colour. You need to blend in, be unremarkable. We should both spend the day getting into character. You get your wallet made up, I think I could use some time to think."

Jack sighed, looking none-too-thrilled. He collected the dishes off the counter and put them into the sink. "Do as you wish so long as you're here to pick me up sometime before midnight. Also, you are free to come and go from my apartment whenever you like. Place your hand on the door and it will read your biorhythm. I already added you to the system."

Nick glanced back at him as he gathered his coat. "And how the heck did you get my bio-rhythm… whatever that is."

Jack only smiled as he rolled up his sleeves and began washing the pans he had used for cooking.

With a shake of his head, Nick walked out the door.

* * *

Nick enjoyed that afternoon by getting some much needed rest. After he awoke, close to dinner, he started immediately to prepare for that night. His fur needed to look its best; that meant conditioning and intense brushing. He even found some sparkly, shine-paste that he had regrettably used back in his late twenties. Surprisingly, the paste still seemed okay, albeit a bit runnier then it probably should have been.

Out of his closet he grabbed the most flamboyant shirt he could find. Suffice it to say, he could have been center stage at pride with the thing on, and no one would have batted an eye. Next he pulled out an old pair of jeans that he'd worn before attending the academy. Since then, he'd bulked up a fair amount; so, many of his old clothes didn't fit quite right. This meant that the pants were tight, like, really tight. Finally, to complete the ensemble, he dug through his mother's old beading kit and constructed a passably tacky, triple-looped, rainbow bracelet.

At around eleven Nick called a cab which took him back to Jack's apartment. On the way he tried to mentally prepare. He wanted to appear on people's gaydar but only as a blip, not a resounding ping. That meant subtlety. That meant forgoing most gay affectations and being subtle. Thinking on this he didn't realize he had arrived until someone opened the cab door and quietly slid into the seat next to him.

The rabbit, Jack, had every inch of his fur dyed a pitch, shiny black. Even his prosthetic was matching and his leg seemed to be padded with some kind of foam to give it a more life-like look. His eyes were a deep gold; very expensive contacts if Nick judged correctly.

Like nick, he was wearing jeans. But, while Nick's pants were tight, Jacks fit like a second skin. Made with female consumers in mind, they had small rhinestone embellishments along the hips, as well as a cut that was made to accentuate and round out the booty. A part of Nick's subconscious noted that Jack filled them out surprisingly well.

Jack also wore a short, pink, tank-top which showed off the lean corded muscle of his arms and pectorals. In his right ear was a small diamond stud and on his finger a jewelled engagement ring.

The whole thing was way, way too much... and yet, Nick had to admit that it kind of worked.

Jack moved across the seat until he was pressed up next to him. With one hand he palmed him a gold band which Nick deftly slid onto his finger. With the other hand, Jack trailed lightly across Nick's chest, letting his paw roam upwards until he sunk his fingers into the fur around his neck.

"Hey, babe." Jack said it very quietly, and without a hint of his usual accent. He spoke now in a slightly higher register than his natural voice. It was what some would consider a stereotypically gay lilt. Yet, he seemed so practiced at it, that it didn't feel forced.

Jack proceeded to stand on the seat and without hesitation, locked his lips against Nick's. His mouth falling open slightly, he let his tongue flick out and drag across the roof of Nick's mouth before pressing forward again, deepening the kiss.

Nick wasn't prepared for any of this, and so just focused on not freezing up as he scrambled to get a handle on what was happening. Almost immediately he felt a pleasant stirring throughout his entire body which he definitely hadn't anticipated. Outwardly he remained calm, but inwardly his brain was skipping like a broken record.

A few moments later Jack withdrew and slid down next to him. The rabbit let his hand run lightly from the top of Nick's quad down along his inner thigh. Nick had to fight to keep his eyes from bugging out of his head. He didn't trust himself to speak or move.

" _Holy shit! He just… I said meek! What happened to blending into the background!?"_

Nick was saved by the cab driver who spoke with no small hint of annoyance, "If yous two are gonna just sit there an jerk eachotha' off, fine by me. But I'm chargin' max rate startin' now."

Jack pulled away slightly, removing his hand from where it had been resting next to Nick's crotch.

Fighting not to stammer, Nick managed to say lightly, "Sorry about that, could you take us to, 'The Jungle'... it's a nightclub downtown."

"Yea I know where it is. Be warned, if'in I look back there an someone's got their dick out, I'm kickin' yah both to the curb - understood?"

Nick gave a weak thumbs-up while Jack just smiled and winked. The cab driver grumbled for a moment but put the car into gear. Jack's apartment retreated from sight as they made their way towards the centre of neon lit Zootopia.

Half a minute later, Nick nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt a paw running through his fur just above his belt and below his navel. He carefully grabbed the questing paw, stilling its progress.

Looking down he found it difficult to make out Jack's expression. It wasn't until the light of a streetlamp flickered past that he caught a glimpse of the rabbits sparkling eyes staring up at him, and a wide smile, utterly dripping with coquettish mischief and coy amusement.

Drawing Jack's hand away from his stomach Nick gulped in trepidation.

" _What have I gotten myself into?"_

 _NOTES:_

 _So I've written around 30k words of this story so far. This first bit was made to fit into the 'teen' catagory. After this however, we see a shift immediatly towards the more x-rated content. The sex scenes in this story leave very little to the imagination and, as of right now, I have yet to write one scene that isn't homoerotic. If that's not your bag, than you are going to have quite a time with what comes next._ _I'm going to post this, as well as the next few chapters in a week or so. It will be in a seperate story that's not part of the '5 AU' anthology._


	4. The Lion Throne

**Important Lore** : In this AU interspecies couples are extremely common. Any two mammals can have children. There are no hybrids. A mixed species couple will always have a child of one species or the other. If the parents are of differing social status, children of the same species as the nobler parent are 'Trueborn'. Only couples consisting of two rabbits can have litters.

That's all you get ;) please enjoy!

* * *

 **The Lion Throne**

Drums echoed out over the cold morning, the sound ricocheting off the great stone face of Terminus. The great mountain leered ominously over the valley; full of anger and desperation as his children waited to be dug from his ancient belly.

 _"Let the old mountain curse me. Let him shake himself to dust in his rage. Wildeholme is mine. I will suck the marrow from its bones."_

The fortress was built into the side of the mountain. Its gates, a huge natural cavern gaped like a frozen scream, a hundred feet high.

House Wilde had lived and ruled in this valley for nearly seven-hundred years. The people were loyal to them even before the throne. It would take subtlety to cow these people. Even after their lord was brought to his knees and relieved of his head they would no doubt rebel. And the tactics they employed: quick strikes, harrying supply lines; slow poison. They knew the land, the mountains and winding passes, the peat bogs and misty moors that stretched out into the cold wet highlands. He would lose his hold here eventually. The tighter he grasped at it the more would slip away. Better to take what he needed and leave... or perhaps there was another way.

The aged king mulled these thoughts over as he lay in his wide cot. Layers of furs and down filled blankets covered his withered flesh. But no amount of warmth seemed able to keep the deep chill from his bones. Not since he'd come to this wretched place. His body ached. His fur greying and matted. Yet his eyes and his mind were still keen. They saw many things and weighed the world against a ledger of self interest that could have filled a great tome.

Uncovering himself slowly, he hissed as the cold air attacked his swollen knees. His nerves lit in agony as he inched out of bed and stood. Bones and tendons popped with every tiny movement. The palsy in his hands caused a tremor to beat through his paws. Still, he was strong enough - strong enough to beat this rebellion into the dust once and for all - strong enough to take what he needed in order to defend his kingdom and his line; to secure his legacy.

He drew a fur off the bed and draped it over his shoulders as he limped towards the entrance of his large tent. A quilt of fox skins, tails dangling like tassels from the edges. He had always believed in the power of symbols and he endeavored to create his own. He knew well the disgust many mammals held towards his tendency to cover himself in the skins of his enemies; let them. Let them whisper of his cruelty; his depravity. So long as they continued to fear him, he would rule.

Pushing into the early morning chill of the valley the king trudged through the previously churned and now half-frozen mud. For half an hour he inched past row upon row of empty tents, mired carts and discarded rubbish. In his youth, Lorne had permitted a guard of his greatest knights to follow him wherever he went. Now though, the belief that he was some sort of warlock had become so ingrained in the minds of the populous that word of his passing would cause a veritable exodus. The common folk believed that they must hold their breath when in his presence, to never gaze into his eyes lest they lose their souls. As ridiculous as that might be, he encouraged the belief, cultivated it, for it provided one of his last bits of entertainment as he watched the fools turn blue and waver on their feet before fleeing or gasping for breath.

Eventually, his joints finally loosening somewhat, Lorne reached the wooden platform that served as his command post. Below him stretched the battlefield. His troops had been arranging themselves since first light; cavalry to the east and west, infantry in ranks behind them. Archers aligned in the rear.

Separated from the other troops, making up the vast bulk of his forces and grouped in the centre of his formation was a milling crowd of Lapin berserkers provided by House Hopps.

Nearly a hundred-thousand rabbits stood corralled in a great disorganized crowd.

The drums were a signal to the incense bearers to light their cencers. Among the berserkers, small clouds of smoke began to appear as bundles of dried night howlers were lit. The incense would free the Lapin forces of their inborn cowardice. It was a delicate manoeuvre. Too much or too little of the toxin and they would be useless. If the winds blew the smoke into his other forces it could cause a catastrophe. It had happened before and he had been forced to slaughter hundreds of his own mammals. He had learned his lesson since then, and that mistake would not be repeated today.

After the allotted time had past several horn blasts sounded. The incense bearers doused their fires. Moments later the Lapin handlers began shouting, the infantry surrounding them pulling inwards, creating a shield wall. The wall acted as the cradle of a sling, holding the mass of restless rabbits.

Then, with a final coordinated command a hundred-thousand small bodies rocketed forward in unison.

The battle had begun.

It was a strange sight to see. The Lapins hurtled into the field, running forward with great speed, spreading wide as they charged. They made no battle cry, the only sound the slight thunder of paws pounding on dew covered grass.

Ahead the forces of House Wilde were holding back.

The rebels had managed to field less than ten thousand troops. All of these were well trained, knights and soldiers; many larger mammals easily worth a multitude of rabbits; or so they thought.

The king allowed himself a wheezing laugh before signalling to his aid, "Send the breakers."

Flags were raised and coded calls made their way to the front of the king's army. Several dozen rhinos, elephants and giraffes dressed in heavy armour began charging forward. They would end up crushing many rabbits under their feet before the day was out, not that it mattered.

The Lapin forces were being peppered with arrows as they closed in on the enemy and, even though hundreds fell, the loss was barely noticeable.

As the two sides clashed, the rabbit attackers were slaughtered, pulped and hurled; smashed like a wave as it broke against jagged rocks. Again, this was as to be expected.

These Lapins entered battle equipped with next to nothing. The less encumbered they were the faster they could be, and speed was their only advantage. On their hips they wore short, foot long stilettos. These blades were fragile and barbed, made specifically to break when embedded in an enemy. Each had been coated with distilled night howler paste.

If even one in ten rabbits was able to strike their foe, the enemy lines would quickly devolve into madness.

The breakers arrived at the rebel shield wall and charged through it, leaving great gaps in the enemy defences. Rabbits streamed through, dodging between legs or leaping over shields, many imbedded their small blades into enemy flesh before they were crushed.

It became quickly apparent that the whole front rank of House Wilde's fighters were beginning to lose control. It took only moments for things to devolve into chaos.

Watching impassively the king called for the second phase to begin. Several short horn blasts signalled all allies on the field to retreat. At the same time the king's cavalry began their forward charge. Animalia's cavalry was feared throughout the world, deadly teams of hooved mammals wearing spiked helmets, ridden by wolves and felines wielding longswords and equipped with heavy armor.

Most of the lapin forces had enough willpower remaining to begin pulling back, removing themselves from the path of the charge.

As for the breakers, they were mostly dead. Each time this little gambit was used it always meant a toll would be taken on the kings heavy forces. It was a cost he was willing to pay.

The forefront of House Wildes forces were still in disarray when the cavalry smashed into them. Several hundred fighters had gone savage and were attacking their friends and allies; little more than mad beasts.

Moments later a horn could be heard reverberating through the bowels of Wildeholme. It signalled for the rebel army to retreat back into the immovable walls of the mountain. The fortress was all but impervious. A near endless numbers of underground passages made it a perfect place to literally dig in.

It was a certainty that they had stocked year's worth of food in the depths and the rebels would no doubt be quite content to resist a siege for many, many months. The king didn't have that long to wait. He needed the riches of the mountain; even tomorrow might be too late.

House Hopps was going to win him the fortress. The gods knew he had paid them for it.

The rebel army had been smashed, at least half their troops lay dead and dying on the valley floor. The rest were funnelling back into the fortress as the cavalry continued to harry them.

Lorne knew that a few hundred rebels would eventually be sacrificed, standing as a death guard to protect the great iron gates as they closed.

The moment to strike arrived as the guard assembled. The king waved a brittle paw as a signal that the Lapins should begin their final task.

Flags were raised and the lapin commanders called their kin to action. They charged again, this time directly at the wall. The great wave of rabbits crashed against the shear stone. Each had been given a metal set of climbing spikes for their hands and feet. The cost to smith the tiny things had been astronomical.

Those rabbits at the front of the charge which failed to climb fast enough where crushed.

Before his eyes the king watched the tiny mammals begin to scale the wall in the thousands. As expected, it was not long before boiling oil began pouring from atop the battlements. Rabbits were seared off the rocky surface. Some were pulled down as others fell writhing and screaming. At its base, half a mile long on either side of the gate, the corpses began to pile. Fire sprang up in many places at once. The screams echoing through the valley sounded out like some orchestra from the deepest depths of hell. Thousands fell, and thousands more were burned alive as yet thousands more were crushed and trampled by their kin.

Still, the rabbits like a sea of beetles continued to climb. Leaping over flaming piles of corpses, burning even as they ascended the craggy stone surface.

For a short time it seemed as if the rebel forces might hold back the tide which never seemed to quite breach the apex. But then, at last, they flooded over the wall.

Even still, as the cavalry put an end to the last of those who had protected the gate, it took minutes, for the horde to push through the final vestiges of opposition. Then they were within the fortress by the tens of thousands; a wave that never seemed to end.

Twenty minutes past before the stone gates swung open once again, having been unlocked from the inside.

The Lapin forces ceased their attack and the king's infantry, still fresh and unbloodied, were sent to sweep in and kill any who were armed. Every noble born fox was to be saved and brought before the king. The remaining members of house Wilde needed to be collected alive.

The battle won, king Lionheart shifted his gaze to a member of his council, one of six currently in attendance, "Lord Otterton, what were our losses within the Hopps contingent?"

Otterton, the soft-spoken bumbler, was by Lorne's estimation, a simpering milk-sop; mild as spring rain. Still, he had his uses; the otter had a mind for numbers and seemed ever-filled with an array of trivia which the king found useful on rare occasions. Also, the certainty he would never try to betray the throne was almost absolute.

"My King, I can only roughly estimate those lost within the keep but I would say fifty to sixty percent."

"Tell me Otterton, what is the greatest number of losses this kingdom, in its illustrious history, has ever seen in any battle."

"It depends on how heavily you weigh the loss of a Lapin my lord. Were you to consider each dead berserker to be a lost soldier then this would be the most costly battle we have ever known. I personally believe though, that losses of 'their kind' should be considered in the realm of shall-we-say, a hundred to one. Should you apply that reasoning to this battle we can consider it a great success, with a loss of only three dozen heavy mammals, two dozen cavalry and five-hundred special troops."

The king didn't contain his sneer, "I have no use for your disingenuous 'corrections' Otterton. The number is sixty thousand - sixty thousand dead. Just burying them will be the work of weeks."

A new voice spoke from the far corner of the command post, "We have Wildeholme. That is worth any number of lives. This may seem like a blow to House Hopps but it has made them the richest of us, eclipsed only by the throne." The cape buffalo, Lord Adrian of house Bogo, his crest (a golden shield) embossed across the centre of his massive plate mail, walked towards the command table. Each step caused the wood beneath his hooves to creak under his considerable weight.

"It was our only choice. Without vulpine steel we have no weapons to defeat the Sarnas. These rebels looked to force their terms. They failed to see that when backed into a corner, an enemy will eventually be forced to fight like animals. These deaths, as horrifying and monstrous as they are, were necessary - a product of the traitorous arrogance and short-sightedness of Robin Wilde and his advisers."

The king nodded slightly but was unconvinced. He hated to admit, but the sight of the burning piles of bodies that dominated the horizon was making him feel things he had thought were buried long ago; guilt, indignation, horror, disgust, and even a remote note of sadness. He would have to sooth his conscience before too long lest this scene affect him.

Lorne was also relieved in a small way. He had become worried, after some of the things he had done, that he'd lost what remained of his conscience. That loss seemed to him a sure way to lose touch with the motivations of the mammals that surrounded him; a failure that he knew would ultimately mean his downfall.

"Find lord Hopps and bring him to me." An attendant who had been waiting for the king's command bowed quickly and left.

"Princess, what say you? How do you see this madness? What will history say?"

The tiny sheep smiled pleasantly as she flipped a hoof into the air causing the many gold baubles encircling her wrist to jangle together. "History will say as we like it to my lord. The Lapins made a noble sacrifice and the kingdom was victorious, all as the gods willed. Naught else will be remembered because we will be the ones to write them - fear of what happened here will ensure it."

Lorne scowled, "A simpleton's answer. As to be expected of your tiny sheep mind." the aged lion hissed at the now wide eyed ewe. "Some acts cannot be erased. This day will mar us all until the end of time. To believe otherwise would be a comforting lie. The reason I sit here listening to you lack wit, asslickers, is the hope that by some miracle I might glean some small hit of truth. Ugly truth, as painful as it may be to the weak minded, is strength to the wise."

The sheep was left stuttering, "Y-you humble me, lord. P-please forgive my ignorance."

The king scoffed, "I don't believe in forgiveness, neither do I believe in grudges." Turning he glanced around the table until his eyes came to rest on the filthy yak sitting at the far end of the table. "I would ask our moon-brained shaman what the Gods have to say, but I remind myself that I don't care."

The only response from the yak was a slight nod followed by an imbecilic laugh.

"Ahh, and my foppish, sheep-biting son. Tell me Leodore, how would _you_ deal with the nobles of House Wilde?"

Startled from a daydream, the pristinely preened lion straightened and looked about hearing his name. Questing for some clue as to what his father had said, he ran his claws nervously over the silver gloss of his ornate 'armor'. "Yes, uh, I'm sorry father, t-the smell has me feeling rather ill. What uh, what was the question?"

"The question, you shameless prey-licker, was, how quickly do you think it will take me to replace you with one of your bastard siblings if you should ever fall in battle? That is if you ever choose to attend one personally instead of watching from afar?"

The young lion puffed up slightly, rage lighting his features as he bared his teeth.

"I doubt very much we will ever find out, grey mane, seeing as you are surely soon to expire. And you are one to talk. From what I've heard you've bedded nearly every species in Animalia."

"I may have buried my sword willfully in my youth, but I never was so stupid as to marry prey, and a sheep for that matter. You must be built like a wasp, else you would have killed her by now. That, or, as I would expect, your Dawn is the loosest bleating quim who ever lived."

Leodore stood hurling his chair backwards in a blind rage. Fumbling with the golden sheath he grasped for his sword. Before he had a chance to draw though, the king pulled a round piece of wood from the sleeve of his robe. On it was inscribed a pointed red rune that seemed to glow in the morning light.

As soon as Leodore beheld the mark, he froze, gasping and began to shake violently. In seconds he was cowering on his knees, his hands to his eyes as his lungs worked like bellows.

Lady Lionheart rushed from her seat around the table and held his arm. She whispered quietly in his ear as she hugged her tiny form against him.

Still heaving, panicked, Leodore was able to stagger away from the table, his wife guiding him gently.

Throughout the entire spectacle the king laughed uproariously only stopping to occasionally wheeze. When his laughter had finally died down he found the table had fallen completely silent. Those seated averting their gaze, staring silently anywhere but at the king.

Still grinning he shouted again, "Where is Hopps!"

The aid, who was only just returning ran up to him, breathing heavily, "The lord Hopps has just arrived my king."

"Good, bring him to me."

Moments later the squat, husky rabbit was led to the seat previously taken up by the princess. Lorne could see the glaze of fear that cloaked the Lapin, he appeared as if he might faint at any moment.

"Lord Hopps, where is the Lady Hopps? I haven't enjoyed the pleasure of her company since the day you were married. And, I must say, you appear somewhat unwell." The old king purred.

"Y-yes, my king. Lady Hopps begs your forgiveness, she has fallen ill. I-I fear the day has affected me as well..."

"Quite understandable, and no matter. I admit, even _I_ am appalled by the outcome. That is, in fact, why I called you here. As further compensation for the great sacrifice made by your subjects, I would like to offer you three small _consolations_."

The quaking rabbit mastered himself slightly hearing this, "Th-thank you lord, you are most generou-"

"Ah! Now, you haven't even heard what it is I'm giving you. First, I will not be asking for any tax, be it coin or food, from any rabbit family who has recently birthed a litter of kits, for the next three years. Second; for the next six months, any union between two rabbits shall be gifted twelve silver marks."

The demeanor of lord Hopps was swiftly changing, "That is most generous my king. After this tragedy, the people will be bolstered-"

"Yes, I know. And no doubt we will have hordes of little Lapins come the spring. _How wonderful._ Now, the final boon depends on several factors. Tell me lord Hopps, how old is your eldest child?"

Caught off guard the plump rabbit stuttered, "M-my d-daughter Judith is twenty-four this year."

"Ah! A daughter - that was going to be my next question. No doubt she is married?"

"No lord, Judith… has always been a contrary child. She has been unwilling to marry any buck me or her mother have ever arranged for her to meet."

"But surely you could have forced the issue, could you not? It is exceedingly odd for a Lapin to go so long and remain unmarried."

"Yes, Lord, that is normally true. Judith is willful, and can't be forced... it would seem."

" _Very_ interesting, now, just two more questions. Was Judith the only kit in her litter, and, what are the color of her eyes?"

"Well… s-she was the only kit in her litter and her eyes are purple, both very unusual and unique traits in our household. I've always wonder-"

"Good! Now, I think that settles it." Lorne clapped his hands gently, "Here is what your third and final boon shall be. From this day forth I induct the Lapin race into the hall of honor. This means that any rabbit may now apply to be trained as an Honor Guard and may attain his or her knighthood."

A hoof slamming down onto the wooden table caused all heads to turn towards lord Bogo.

"King Lionheart! The honor guard has always been reserved for the noble class of mammals - rabbits have no place among us. To even consider their admittance is an insult to all those knights who have lived and died protecting this kingdom. The gods demand-"

"I piss on your gods!" The king roared, seeming for a moment far more hail than his age would admit. "I **shit** , on your _'noble'_ mammals. You are my servant Bogo, honor-bound to me! My will is your law, obey or lose your all-important _honor_ along with your head."

Veins popped out of the water buffalo's neck and if looks could kill he might have struck the king dead. However, staring into the lions haunting eyes, the bull deflated and lowered his head before placing a fist over his heart. "Forgive me Lord. I will obey."

Before the King could respond his aid whispered in his ear and informed him that the family Wilde awaited him.

The King smiled, "Bring them before me. Bogo, search the foxes, you can never trust their kind." Bogo nodded and walked away.

Several minutes later, two blood spattered, mud encrusted mammals were dragged onto the wooden platform. The aid announced them as they arrived, "Lord Wilde of Wildeholme and his first born son, Nicholas. Sadly my King, these are the only two members of house Wilde who survived the conflict."

Lorne wanted to stand up and rage, but silently mastered himself. Both of the foxes in front of him looked bereft, they slumped against their bonds; runnels of tears had cleaned the blood and dirt from the space below their eyes.

"And so comes this final irksome task. I do not wish for either of you to speak, just listen. You are both of noble birth and yet you have betrayed your king. For that, you should be put to death. Unfortunately, I need your people to create the vulpine steel which is needed to protect my kingdom. So, for the greater good, I am going to offer you the king's mercy."

The younger of the two foxes snarled savagely, "You killed my mother! My sisters! Fuck your mercy you-"

Bogo leaned down and pummeled a fist into the fox's stomach. Nicholas toppled gasping, his head bouncing off the wooden floor.

The king continued as if nothing had happened, "Robin Wilde you shall be locked in the twelfth spire until the day you die. Your execution will be withheld so long as your people deliver what I require. Should you ever attempt to escape, the life of your son will be forfeit."

The elder fox didn't even seem to be aware of what was happening, his head lulled, his eyes staring into nothing.

The old lion couldn't help but betray a smirk, "Nicholas Wilde you will be married to the Lady Judith Hopps at the earliest opportunity. You will take the name Hopps. Your wife will be given all the rights and privileges of a male heir, therfore her title will be that of 'Lord', while your official title shall now, and forever, be that of 'Lady'."

This pronouncement caused a smatter of laughter to erupt around the table. Even lord Bogo smiled at the shame being leveled on the pathetic lordling. Lord Hopps merely gaped, eyes bulging in disbelief.

"If your union produces any trueborn sons they will retain the noble name of 'Wilde' and will be sent to live in Wildehome under the care of a guardian who I shall appoint. Should you ever leave the Barrowlands without my express permission, you, your father and your trueborn children will be hunted down and killed."

The king glanced at the guards towering over the two broken nobles. He waved a hand and the foxes were immediately lifted and taken away.

Things were quieter then, for a short while.

In the distance the sound of thousands of dying Lapins could still be heard echoing over the highlands. Lorne half expected Lord Hopps to protest his daughter's betrothal, but the rabbit seemed to have gone into some kind of fugue.

The king turned to his aid once more and said, "Bring food and warm blankets to my tent." to this the servant bowed vigorously and was gone.

Lorne then stood and began the agonizing journey back to his bed. Those around him had long ago learned not to offer any help.

As he eased his way forward in the morning light, plans within plans churned ever round in his mind. If any had the courage to look, they would have seen a devious and lustful desire burned brightly behind his two, cold, violet eyes.


	5. The Wilde Children

Thadius Bogo stood over his desk arranging maps and making small notes with a black sharpie.

It was Wednesday and for Bogo, the end of his work week. For the last three months the musclebound Chief of police had been scaling back his hours. Recently, he considered it a victory if he managed to spend a full three days at the precinct.

Officer Fangmeyer had been promoted to assistant chief months ago and Bogo found himself ever more willing to hand off responsibilities to the younger officer whenever they came up. It was to the point where most members of the ZPD had simply stopped coming to him with everyday police business. It was expected that the cape buffalo would be taking an early retirement at some point in the near future.

In truth, Bogo might as well have been retired. He'd lost all taste for his work. Incredibly, and after a life dedicated to policing, he simply could no longer find the will to care.

Thadious Bogo had become obsessed. To be fair, much of the police force had shared his obsession at one point.

Judy Hopps and Nicholas Wilde were gone and almost certainly dead.

In the beginning, after the official searches had turned up nothing, many members of the ZPD (Bogo included) would head out in teams to search the wilderness for their wayward friends. Months past and then an entire year - over a year and a half, and the search had been abandoned by all but one Chief of police who was barely even that anymore.

It was the same thing that had made him a good cop, his tireless dogged determination - his unmovable stubbornness, that had been his downfall. Because he couldn't give up. He wasn't built that way. Every failure only strengthened his resolve to KEEP LOOKING; week after week, month after month.

There was more to it then that. Although Bogo would never admit it, except perhaps to himself, he had always seen his two smallest Officers as different. Judy Hopps was perhaps the only mammal he had ever met more tenacious then himself. And she had achieved things he never expected. She even caused him to change his views; a near impossible task. While Wilde, the shifty fox that he was, somehow over the years that they worked together, had become someone he counted as a friend. With the exception of Clawhauser, Nick was the first of his peers that Bogo had ever spent any time with outside of work, and unexpectedly, became the first one he would confide in when he thought something was wrong with one of his officers.

Judy and Nick had been incredible together - the best partners he'd ever seen. They were the first cops he'd ever felt were truly fit to take on the greater responsibilities of protecting their fair city. He'd planned for them to rise through the ranks and some day replace him. Yet, they were fragile, and Bogo had always felt a pang when he sent them out to uphold the law. He realized that, unmarried and devoid of much family (as he was) Nick and Judy had come close to being something like children to him; maybe more like protégés. He cared about them far, far more then he would ever admit.

While he mused over his maps, Fangmeyer slipped into his office. The female tiger let her gaze rest on him for a moment, a flicker of sadness in her eyes… or was it pity.

"Afternoon Chief."

Bogo just grumbled in response. He wasn't even wearing his uniform as he'd changed into quick-drying hiking attire an hour earlier.

"Looks like you're ready to head out. Got an itinerary for me?"

Bogo handed her a small pile of papers including a map. "I marked out the route as usual. Some hiker went missing up in Solemn Ridge about a week ago. It's just a few miles outside of my frame. Thought I might as well increase my chances of actually finding _something_."

"Sir, I know you don't want to hear this but… they're gone."

"We've had this conversation already and you are aware of my opinion."

"Sir-"

"Drop it!" Bogo went so far as to add a little menace into his voice. It was enough.

"Yes sir." Fangmeyer turned and headed for the door. Just as she was about to leave, Bogo heard her whisper what had become their customary goodbye as he'd depart for his five day 'camping trips'.

"Good luck Chief."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Bogo was ready. Instead of heading out through the main hall he decided to sneak out through an emergency exit in the stairwell.

 _"It really_ _ **is**_ _getting bad when I feel like a thief in my own precinct."_

If he could barely stand to put in a twenty-four hour work week, it was time for him to retire. His pension was going to be pretty thin. If he sold the house though he could buy some land up in the Wernicke's, build a little cabin, spend the winters in Zootopia with his sister. The degree to which his vision of his retired life had changed in the last two yeasr was astounding. Maybe Fangmeyer was right. Perhaps he needed professional help. But, who was he kidding, he was never going to sit down with some head doctor. He'd take life as a hermit in the woods over that.

Opening the back door of his jeep, Bogo checked his pack over one final time. Satisfied, he got into the driver seat and pulled out his phone. There was one final ritual to attend to before he got underway.

Scrolling through a list of saved videos, Bogo found the one he was looking for. For the thousandth time he watched the grainy footage, shot from a camera mounted on the underside of a gas station shelter.

*From the left, a small red hatchback pulls next to a gas pump. Out from the passenger door comes an exuberant Judy Hopps, beginning a two week vacation in Bunnyburrows where she plans to inform her family of her engagement to one, Nick Wilde. From the driver's side the smug fox comes into view. He smiles and gestures, seeming to make some joke or innuendo that sets his rabbit partner off into a fit of laughter. (As always, Bogo wonders what it was that she found so funny.)Then a hooded figure appears from inside the gas station convenience store.*

Later it would be discovered to be none other than Doug Ramsey, the sheep who had assisted Bellweather in her plot and had remained for so long at large. Later still, the same ram would be found in a motel, dead, apparently having put a gun to his head.

*In the video Doug approaches the two officers who are too wrapped up in their private jokes to notice him. In one swift motion he draws a pistol and fires; first at Nick and then at Judy. Both mammals are struck with nighthowler pellets and begin to writhe in rage and agony as Doug makes a quick escape, his vehicle spinning it's tires and accelerating away. Moments later the two mammals fall to all-fours and begin to circle one another. The savage fox leaps at the rabbit who then bolts away towards the trees. The fox gives chase.*

Neither Nick or Judy had ever been seen or heard from again since that moment.

Most believed them to be dead. In Bunnyburrows a funeral had been held, to which Bogo refused to attend. Some theorized that one or both might be alive; although most believed, though rarely shared in public, that the savage fox had probably killed and eaten his fiancé not long after the end of the recording.

This was a scenario Bogo chose not to entertain. Him and his officers scoured those woods for weeks and found nothing. No dead bunny, not even a sign that they had ever even been there. They could still be alive.

Bogo clicked off his phone and sighed. Starting his engine he pulled out of the ZPD parking lot, steeling himself for the six hour drive ahead.

* * *

That evening the cape buffalo arrived in the tiny town of Solemn Ridge; population 264.

He stopped briefly at the squat, three room police station and gave them a copy of his hiking route before asking the sheriff about the lost hiker. James Rudolph, a reindeer, had gone missing. Searches had been conducted by helicopter for the last few days but had thus far discovered nothing. Having an estranged family and few friends, the reindeer was likely to become a forgotten file in a basement cabinet before long.

That night Bogo slept in his Jeep, somehow much calmer now that he was again out in the wilderness. It was strange, but the outdoors had slowly worked its way into his blood. During the last four hours of his drive he had passed a grand total of five cars. He found that fact strangely comforting. Maybe he'd just dealt with the ignorant, self-serving masses for too long; long enough for a lifetime really.

* * *

Bogo awoke in his reclined car seat just as the first rays of sun made their way through his windshield. As always, the mountain vista before him, illuminated by the rising sun, took his breath away.

Stretching before grabbing the large camping pack out of his backseat, Bogo locked the car and took a deep breath. If he was lucky he could reach the top of the nearest mountain by noon. Then it would be a matter of following the ridges as they snaked through the rugged landscape, dipping low before rising up again towards the sky. He was grateful at least that the mountains before him weren't tall enough to have much snow on them at this time of the year.

Within a few minutes of walking into the deep bush, Bogo let the familiar feeling of 'aloneness' settle over him that he'd become so accustomed to these last years. He let his mind wander, both taking in the landscape and playing over the events of his life. It was easy to feel almost like his time as police Chief, and the city of Zootopia itself, were all a strange and distant dream.

Bogo traversed his way to the nearest mountain top an hour before the sun reached its zenith. All these weeks of walking had done wonders for his stamina. On the other hoof, he wasn't the ultra-built buffalo he once was. Was he muscular? Very, but now it was a leaner, thinner version of himself that stopped at the mountaintop and found a small patch of melting snow. As a small victory celebration he grabbed a handful of slush and rubbed it into his face and dropped it down his shirt. He was so heated from essentially walking straight up a hill for four hours, carrying a third of his body-weight on his back, that the snow felt amazing and melted almost instantly.

For the remainder of the day Bogo traveled quickly along the ridges of the mountains, consulting his GPS frequently. Although he was never able to travel directly towards his destination, in general he was making progress, and far faster than if he had dropped prematurely into the valleys. A straight line in these wildernesses was never the quickest path.

As the sun began to set, Bogo found the melting remains of winter's snow, pressed into the mountains saddle. Beneath the snow covered run, he could hear a running river of meltwater that was trickling along the rocky face. Giving his hooves a needed rest he slid and bounced his way down the long snowy stretch, descending at what would have been a breakneck speed otherwise. Half way down he slipped and slid on his rump for a few dozen feet, spraying glittering plumes of melting snow into the air. The buffalo's laughter echoed deeply across the landscape as he pulled himself to his feet, first running, only to purposefully drop to his butt again as he slid. The rumbling laughter was this time accompanied by a get whoop.

Semi-wet and feeling light on his hooves, Bogo found a spot near what was becoming a steadily widening stream, far enough from the rocks not to injure his back, but close enough that he could bathe and still quickly retreat to his fire. He set his camp on a clear patch of dirt and moss while preparing a light prepackaged meal. Hours later Bogo slept deeply, happily and exhausted in the safety of his tent.

* * *

The next morning he awoke, cold, and in much need of a piss but overall refreshed, only to be confronted as he opened his tent by a sprawling chaotic mess. His backpack was torn open, the various items he carried for survival were strewn about the camp site. Taking quick stock he began to carefully scan the area, treating it like a crime scene.

Teeth, his bag had definitely been torn by teeth. His food was mostly gone, except for two metallic bags that had been ripped open, their contents spilled and mixed into the dirt. There were prints!

 _"Paw, prints in the dirt, most definitely a small mammal, canine, could be a fox._ "

A feeling of overwhelming excitement was building inside Bogo. Giving up on his investigation he immediately went about trying to find his tranquilizer gun. He got to it quickly, as it was still attached to his belt which he had kept inside his tent. Next, he found his GPS/ Sat phone. The phone turned on fine, and the GPS seemed to work, but a line of teeth marks up the phone's antenna spoke to why the satellite signal remained lost. Grabbing a few more things, he wasted no more time, abandoning what remained of his camp.

In slow, ever widening circles Bogo searched.

 _"Where did you go Wilde?"_

Bogo chastised himself for jumping to conclusions as to the owner of said paw prints. It could have been other hikers.

 _"Not likely._ "

It might have been a lizard or something… No, nothing lived in these hills. Maybe thousands of years ago before mammals evolved, but now it was nothing but birds and bugs.

 _"There! Another set of prints_."

Bogo pumped his fist in victory and slowly began to scamper along, almost on his knees. They made a trail that was leading away from the camp. There had been far too much food in that bag for Wilde to have stolen it all at once; especially if he was holding it all between his teeth.

Pretty soon it became apparent that his assumption had been true. More obvious than the paw prints were the small marks made by the food bags as they had been dragged across the ground. Bogo began following them, at first walking slowly, but with mounting excitement, he upgraded his pace to a light jog. He tried to move as silently as he could, as he didn't want to startle the fox. He just needed to get close enough to hit him with a dart.

Moving up a hill and through an area of dense underbrush Bogo finally emerged into a small glen filled with long grass.

It was instantaneous, before his conscious mind had time to catch up with his instinct, Bogo knew there was something wrong. The fur all over his body suddenly stood on end and adrenaline began pumping through his veins.

 _"What? Why?"_

As the seconds ticked by the evidence became ever more apparent. Flies, the sounds of a great horde of them - pressed grass, and droppings - the sound of birds had ceased. There was something in the air... decay - blood - death; Bogo had smelt it before.

Stepping further into the clearing he saw it; the bright colors of torn fabric which clung to a corpse. The body of James Rudolf was missing some very vital bits, including a face. If not for the fact that he'd worked in homicide all those years ago, and that he hadn't eaten any breakfast, Bogo would have surely lost it. Nonetheless, he felt bile rise into his throat when, with a dawning horror he spotted a small grey rabbit staring at him with feral eyes. The moment he met the slitted purple glare, she began to hiss. It was then that Bogo saw the tiny red and grey bundles behind her.

 _"Kits?!"_

Bogo's confused thoughts spun as he tried to understand what he was seeing.

 _"Hopps had a litter of babies? She must have been pregnant. There are… there are at least ten… there is more than one litter here. How? Who killed Rudolph? Not just killed. He's been… eaten. Could Wilde have-"_

A blur of red fur, claws and fangs was suddenly on him, scratching and scrambling, tearing at his clothes. Razor sharp teeth lunged forward, biting down hard into his shoulder as Bogo whipped around, slipping into the long grass. The pain was exquisite. Rows of tiny knives were shredding his left trapezius muscle. With a deep bellied scream Bogo tried to shake off his attacker, but to no avail. Finally, regaining some semblance of sense, gripping the foxes neck in one hand he drew his dart gun and fired it point blank into Wilde's ribs. The fox continued to growl and whip his head about for several seconds before going still; asleep. The growling didn't cease though. Looking up, Bogo saw Judy who was creeping toward him, death was in her eyes. He didn't give her time to strike. Reloading the tranquilizer gun in a single, one handed motion that he had perfected years prior, and was part of the reason he had once been a legend on the streets, Bogo fired. As always, his aim was true, and just as Judy leapt towards him she was struck in the neck. By the time her boneless body reached him, she was already out cold and slid harmlessly up against his leg.

In one excruciating movement, Bogo pulled Nicks jaw off his shoulder. A series of sickening pops rang in his ears as rows of teeth became unstuck from his blood-soaked flesh. The red fluid was already running freely and had begun to dribble down the fingers of his currently useless left arm. He needed to get back to camp and patch himself up immediately.

Scooping the unconscious rabbit and fox up in his good arm he looked back at the kits who were sitting and watching him.

"Ok babies just… just wait right there. I'm coming back."

Bogo had never abandoned a horde of kittens in the middle of the forest before, but what was he supposed to do? This was most definitely a day of firsts.

Quickly, before doing anything else, he took a quick count of the, the twelve… no thirteen, whatever they were… children! They were children. Impossible, unnatural children of a fox and a rabbit. Bogo had to stifle a laugh that fought to escape his throat. It was borne of pure incredulous shock, and he determined it was best not to entertain, lest it turn into a full blown mental breakdown. Still, he silently judged the probability that he had lost his mind was fairly high at this point. If not for the agonizing pain in his shoulder he might have simply lay down in bewilderment.

Minutes later, crashing through the underbrush, the buffalo found himself back at his campsite. Immediately he dropped Judy and Nick down onto the moss before finding his first aid kit. He opened it one-handed, and went to work sterilizing and bandaging his mangled shoulder. The shirt he'd been wearing was a write-off so he simply tore it from his body. After staunching the flow of blood, and taping as much gauze to himself as possible, Bogo pulled on his windbreaker and made a quick sling so his arm wouldn't sway about as he traveled.

 _"Now to get the kits."_

Bogo found the remains of his backpack and a spool of nylon thread. He began haphazardly lashing the bag back together when he noticed movement in his periphery. Bunny… foxes, were coming out of the trees and gathering around their unconscious parents.

"Hey little-ones, thanks for saving me the trouble of coming to find you." Bogo said cheerfully as he skittered on the edge of an existential crisis.

Unnervingly the kits looked up at him as he spoke. Their eyes fixed on him, and in there clear, intelligent orbs of green and purple and blue, he saw an unwavering awareness.

Swallowing, Bogo finished the ridiculous, nearly unconscionable job he had been doing with the nylon thread. The status of the backpack could now be upgraded from totally useless to mostly useless. Not wanting to think about it further, Bogo stood and approached the strange family cautiously. The kits never flinched at his approach, and instead continued to bore into him with their eyes.

As he was about to reach down and scoop up their mother, a single kit hopped forward; putting itself in front of her. When it opened its mouth, and began to speak, Bogo felt sure that he really _was_ going insane. The words that it uttered were an impossible garble; like a toddlers mumbling but sharp and distinct, varied, like a real language.

"Murmum bak *click* abombom tum bub. Agaga urm-murm *teeth clack* oompum oom."

Bogo thought he was going to be sick and in a wavering voice responded automatically. "I'm sorry little one. I… I don't understand."

"Orry libble om… don umberstan."

At that, all the kits began to jabber and parrot his words, seeming happy and infinitely pleased having discovered a new game,

"Orry orry. Umber-stan! Libble, litble, libblestam! Donlibble orry-rorry, libble-dib."

 _"Oh, gods above… I'm not equipped to handle this."_

Coming apart at the seams Bogo grabbed Judy and placed her roughly into the backpack. He lay it down next to the kits and pointed, "Get in kits. Go to your mother."

Impossibly, moments later, that's just what they did, still babbling, no, they were chanting; singing.

 _"What is this? What… what are they? Fangmeyer you were right, I've lost it."_

Frantic now, Bogo hefted the bag filled with tiny chattering bodies over his shoulder. He grabbed Wilde by the scruff of the neck and tossed him into the crook of his arm.

Then Bogo ran.

He leapt and scrabbled over rock - clambered up slopes and along ridges and through trees for hours and hours. His breath heaving in his great lungs, blood caking the side of his body until at last, just as the last rays of sun were disappearing behind the mountains, he came upon his parked jeep. He placed the bag and the fox onto his passenger seat, hooves shaking, his vision narrow and frayed at the edges. Fumbling, he got his key in the ignition and the jeep started with a roar. Peeling down the road with abandon, ten miles later he came to a skittering halt just outside the sheriff's station.

He got everyone inside.

He told the officers who the two unconscious, naked mammals were as he administered a second dose of tranquilizer to each.

The deputy, who had come around his desk to investigate, shrieked like a five-year-old when a small horde of kits began to pour out of the torn bag. "What the fuck!"

The poor mammal looked about ready to kick at them out of shear reflex before Bogo roared from where he was sprawled out on the floor, "Don't you touch them! Hurt even one and your goddamned life will be forfeit, do you hear me!"

The deputy recoiled like a whipped dog as the interior of the office settled into a deep silence.

Taking a breath Bogo redirected his attention to the sheriff, "Get us some help. Call precinct one. I want a chopper here. I want emergency responders! Don't just stand there you morons, move!"

Both of the flabbergasted mammals sprung into action and suddenly Bogo was left alone on the floor.

Dazed, he glanced at the kits who were now wandering the room. Feeling as unlike himself as he ever had in his life, Bogo pulled both the rabbit and fox, his wayward officers, _his friends_ , and lay them against his chest. With a single hoof he tapped against the linoleum flooring and beckoned to the kits, "Come here… come on little ones."

Somehow, they understood, and like goslings following their mother, flocked to him. Soon he was covered in them as they crawled over him, nestling into his coat, under his chin and within his arms where he held their sleeping parents.

Feeling a slight tingling sensation Bogo looked down to see that several were licking at the blood on his arm. He saw them properly for the first time. They were like rabbits but, longer in the body and the tail. They had pointed ears, short but protruding muzzles lined with sharp teeth. They were red and grey and white. And finally, their eye… their eyes… the pupils of which were long vertical slits; savage, every one of them was savage. Yet, as they slept against him, murmuring to one another, Bogo no longer understood what that word even meant.

He was crying. Some knot of fear and sadness he'd been carrying inside him had suddenly come loose. His mind, spirit and body were stretched to their utmost limit. Feeling himself growing hazy with exhaustion and blood loss, the great buffalo slowly surveyed his charges.

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Twelve… "_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Twelve…"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Twelve kits."_

He counted again.

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Twelve kits."_

Was it always twelve… or had he… it was so chaotic in the forest and he had practically guessed at the number. He could have easily counted one twice, or simply gone too fast. He must have miscounted.

As Bogo found himself drifting into unconsciousness he thought,

 _"There were twelve."_

 _"I miscounted…"_

 _"I must have…"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"I must have."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 ** _Hey all! So, this was a long time coming, sorry bout' that. Anyway, I decided a while ago to go ahead with 'Savage Wilde Hopps'. However, if you would like to vote on a secondary fic from among these five please do so and I'll take that into consideration if and when I decide to write more of one. Thanks!_**


End file.
